Don’t turn your trash can into a fire hazard

Materials improperly placed into the trash can be significant fire hazards, capable of starting fires when:

• mixed in loads of waste in refuse collection trucks,
• on rail cars on the way to waste processing and disposal facilities, or
• while waste is being processed at Montgomery County’s Shady Grove Processing Facility and Transfer Station or Resource Recovery Facility.

To reduce the risk for trash fires, do not place the following materials in your trash:

• Flammable or combustible liquids (such as gasoline, oil-based paints, or kerosene)
• Hazardous materials (including items such as ammonia, bleach, pool chemicals, pesticides, paint thinners, etc.)
• Canisters containing propellants (including butane or propane)
• Cylinders containing compressed gas (such as propane, helium, oxygen, acetylene or fire extinguishers)
• Rechargeable batteries (which contain heavy metals, including lithium, nickel cadmium or lead-acid)
• Ashes (from fireplaces, fire pits or barbeque grills) – more information on proper disposal of ashes from Montgomery County Fire & Rescue Service
• Unknown substances (will be managed as Household Hazardous Waste)

The danger is that when these types of items are mixed, or come in contact with, other substances that could be in the trash, the combination can be volatile and catch fire.

These items should be properly disposed in Montgomery County’s Household Hazardous Waste Collection Program, or other special collection processes available at the Shady Grove Processing Facility and Transfer Station.

Download the educational postcard that was distributed across the County.