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Rumpke recycling truck catches fire near Tipp City

TIPP CITY — A Rumpke recycling truck had the materials in its back end catch on fire recently in Miami County.

Wednesday July 21st the driver had to dump the material into the empty parking lot at the Nashville United Church of Christ on 571 between Tipp City and West Milton.

The truck had just finished up pickups in Tipp City and was driving back to the Rumpke facility in Greenville when the driver noticed the back end of the truck was smoking.

“He immediately followed proper procedures and found an empty parking lot where he could pull over and dump the material from the truck so that firefighters could extinguish the flames and make sure we’re saving the truck,” Molly Yeager, Rumpke Communications Manager said.

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While the exact cause of the fire isn’t certain the company has a good idea about what sparked the flames.

“The driver did note some batteries he saw when they tipped the load, specifically lithium ion batters,” Yeager said. “He also noticed some pool chemical containers. Both of those are common culprits of truck fires.”

Yeager said that when disposing of materials like this they encourage people to reach out to their solid waste district so they can pinpoint the best way to dispose of materials like lithium ion batteries, pool chemical containers, and more.

The truck that caught on fire runs on diesel but Rumpke has several that run on compressed natural gas that could have made the fire much more dangerous.

“That has an inherent risk with it too if the truck would catch on fire,” Yeager said. “But regardless if the truck is on fire it’s a risk not only for our employees but for the monitoring public as well.”

If the driver didn’t notice the fire Yeager said it could have been far worse and it’s a problem that’s all too familiar for the company.

“Back in 2012 our recycling facility in Cincinnati where all that material will end actually had a devastating fire that completely burned the facility down.”

Yeager estimated that company wide there have been probably 50 truck fires this year alone and that there’s easily more than 10 per year on average but didn’t have exact numbers. Yeager also said that aerosol cans have become increasingly problematic for truck fires.

“We do see an uptick in the summer months because of those fireworks, those propane tanks, those charcoal embers, pool chemicals,” Yeager said.

Rumpke encourages people to check and follow its curbside guidelines ( https://www.rumpke.com/for-your-home/curbside-guidelines) for detailed lists of what should and shouldn’t go into trash or recycling bins.

James Rider

James Rider

I was born in Virginia and have moved several times in my life as a member of an Air Force family. I've lived in Virginia, California, Germany, England, and Ohio. I graduated from Centerville High School and then went on to attend Ball State University where I graduated with a bachelor's degree.

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