Surprise item you can’t put in your kerbside bin due to fire risk

Australian households are unwittingly fuelling thousands of fires each year through the improper disposal of everyday electronics, experts have warned.

That dead electric toothbrush might seem like harmless plastic, but tossing it in your regular kerbside bin is a major fire hazard, waste management giant Cleanaway has revealed in its 2026 Recycling Behaviours Report, listing all electronic items and batteries as the most common culprits.

Yasmin Assis, Sustainability Officer at Cleanaway, told nine.com.au any item containing a battery needs to be disposed of separately, adding most people place such items in their bins without even realising the danger that is contributing to between 10,000 and 12,000 fires annually.

“Sometimes it can be something as small as a toy that has those button batteries. Sometimes people don’t even realise it’s in there,” Assis said.

“Also any light-up toys, rechargeable devices, anything that has a wire in it, and anything that has lights in it.”

Assis recently conducted a waste recycling education session at an aged care facility and discovered electric blankets were also being added to kerbside bins, which she explained is also hazardous.

“Anything that has a cord or a wire in it, anything that you can put electricity into or a battery, that would be considered a hazardous item if it goes inside your kerbside bin.”

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This includes broken phone chargers, which she said should be placed in a shoebox and taken to an official e-waste disposal centre near you. These can be found at some department stores and local libraries. A full list of e-waste disposal centres can be found on local council websites.

Assis said fires related to items that have been disposed of incorrectly can pose a danger not only to households, but to drivers and workers at rubbish sorting facilities.

“A lot of people still have that mentality that they can’t be bothered, which is why we’re trying to raise awareness that it’s a matter of ignorance, that it could be dangerous and cause a fire,” she said.

“This puts our drivers, our workers from the facilities, in danger, so it’s a bigger issue than most people realise.”

These items can also pose a risk if they are not disposed of properly and are instead stored in homes.

“We would recommend, for batteries, to tape the ends with any tape you have at home, then store them in a Ziploc bag or a shoebox or a paper bag to reduce the risk.”

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The report also flagged the following common recycling issues:

1. Wishful recycling

Forty nine per cent of Australians have put soft plastics in their kerbside recycling bin hoping they’d be recycled, not realising they are not recyclable at all.

2. Falling for the ‘looks recyclable’ trick

Sixty four per cent of Australians have felt misled by soft plastics packaging that appears recyclable but isn’t, because they wrongly include a recycling label.

3. Kerbside bin catch-all

Twenty per cent of Australians would put an electric toothbrush in general rubbish; 18 per cent would do the same with headphones.

Most of the time this is done without awareness of the potential risks.

4. Compost confusion

Thirty three per cent of Australians have never seen the certified compostable logo.

Twenty one per cent have seen it but don’t know what it means.