‘Significant hazard’: Lithium-ion battery fires at Edmonton’s dump causes $2.5M damages

There is growing danger in what people are throwing out after a lithium-ion battery burned and exploded at Edmonton’s dump.

“When these batteries end up on the line, it produces a significant hazard for all of those around,” said Spencer de Klerk, the general supervisor of the Edmonton Waste Management Centre.

De Klerk has seen the worst of lithium-ion batteries on the job, with the number of fires increasing and costing taxpayers $2.5 million.

From power tools to vapes to phones, lithium-ion batteries are everywhere, but they can explode or start a fire, either when picked up by a garbage truck, at the sorting facility, or out in the elements at the landfill.

Lithium-ion fires are extremely dangerous, as they burn at temperatures up to 2,000 degrees, giving off toxic smoke, taking hours to put out, and adding risk for city workers.

“We want to keep our people safe,” said de Klerk.

This past November, a lithium-ion battery fire here in this processing plant destroyed a blue steel conveyor, with temperatures so hot the metal melted and warped, shutting down a section of the Edmonton Waste Management Centre. It’s expected to be up and running next week at a cost of $900,000.

After 18 battery fires in 2024, the City increased training, and the number of fires dropped to six last year.

“We don’t think we ever will get them down to zero. We think there will always be batteries in the waste stream, unfortunately, especially with them increasing,” said Adam Groshko, the operations coordinator of waste management.

Edmonton’s waste management team is joining firefighters in calling for people to be more careful with batteries.

Earlier this month a downtown apartment fire was sparked by a lithium e-bike battery.

Officials are reminding the public to be mindful of where they charge their batteries and to keep them out of their garbage. Dead batteries, vapes, and other electronics should be brought to an eco station.

“We’ve seen about $2.5 million worth of damage in the last five years as a result of battery-related fires, but it’s not only the damage that hurts us; it’s the downtime. It’s the fact that we can’t effectively divert away from landfill,” said de Klerk.