Iowa City urges safe battery disposal after five landfill fires

In the first three months of this year, five fires have ignited in the Iowa City Landfill and have required emergency response to extinguish. Most, if not all, of these fires were started by batteries that were improperly disposed of in the trash.

Batteries and battery-containing devices should not go into the trash or regular recycling. Batteries that are incorrectly disposed of are a leading cause of landfill and recycling facility fires. The city is asking residents to properly dispose of batteries via battery drop-off locations located throughout Johnson County, including:

These drop-off locations are available to residents in Johnson County, Kalona, and Riverside at no cost.

Battery-containing devices such as electronics, toys, and power tools can be properly recycled via the City’s electronics and appliances recycling programs. More information is available at www.icgov.org/recycle.