Columbia Co. picks up the pieces after fire at trash facility - WMTV – NBC15

Columbia Co. picks up the pieces after fire at trash facility

MADISON, Wis. (WMTV) - Waste management workers in Columbia County returned to normal operations Monday, after a fire that began less than 24 hours prior left a three-story building a total loss.

Sunday’s fire at the Columbia Co. Recycling and Waste Processing Facility began in the transfer station, director Greg Kaminski said. It contained mostly household waste, collected in this case Friday, before going to the landfill.

While there was a “brief” flare up Monday morning, according to Kaminski, the fire did not spread next door to the recycling center, which got a $1.9 million upgrade last year.

“Pretty depressed about it, but we’ll get through it,” Kaminski said Monday. “We’ll get through it because we’re still operating. We’re still running today. Our facilities are open.”

The official cause of the incident is undetermined, according to Chief Troy Haase at the Portage Fire Department, which was the responding agency in the Pardeeville-based incident.

Probable causes, however, include a lithium ion battery and hot ashes or coal, Kaminski said. “We’re really concerned about getting into both the garbage and the recycling.”

Lithium batteries are causing more fires in the waste industry across the country, according to Sarah Murray, the E-Cycle Wisconsin coordinator at the Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources (DNR). She explained lithium batteries, in particular, have higher charges than other batteries, and if they’re damaged they could spark and cause fires.

The DNR explains how to properly handle used batteries here.

The Columbia Co. waste and recycling facility can accept old batteries for free. Call2Recycle is another DNR-approved resource for finding a list of battery drop-off sites.

“They need to be dropped off at a place that can handle them properly because the facility that is set up to process your newspaper and cardboard and cans and bottles isn’t set up to handle electronics. They’re just a very different type of material,” Murray said.

If you’re dealing with hot coals, Haase said to put them in a five gallon pail of water before throwing them out.

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