Can I Put Fireworks in the Garbage?
Can I Put Fireworks in the Garbage?
Summer is finally here and it’s time to celebrate! Fireworks play a large role in celebrations from New Years to the 4th of July. While they are a great excuse to gather together and beautiful to look at, they can also be dangerous to you, your garbage collector and the environment. Historically, Independence Day sees more fires than any other day of the year. Half of those fires are started by fireworks.
It’s important, once the smoke has cleared, to dispose of both spent and unused fireworks properly. Luckily, it’s easy to do!
Summer is finally here and it’s time to celebrate! Fireworks play a large role in celebrations from New Years to the 4th of July. While they are a great excuse to gather together and beautiful to look at, they can also be dangerous to you, your garbage collector and the environment. Historically, Independence Day sees more fires than any other day of the year. Half of those fires are started by fireworks.
It’s important, once the smoke has cleared, to dispose of both spent and unused fireworks properly. Luckily, it’s easy to do!
Take any unused, misfired or spent fireworks and soak them completely in a bucket of water. Soaking them overnight should do the trick.
Once fireworks are wet throughout, drain access water and place them into a resealable plastic bag to help maintain moisture. You don’t want to them to dry out again.
Fireworks are not considered household hazardous waste and can be placed in your garbage container for removal. Fireworks should not be placed in recycling or yard waste containers.
If you find yourself with unused fireworks, be sure to store them in a dry, cool place, away from electrical appliances. You can also check with your local fire station to see if they have a collection available for unused fireworks.
Environmental Concerns
While they aren’t used often enough to do long-term damage to our planet, special precautions should be in place when using fireworks. These awe-inspiring spectacles are typically made of harsh chemicals, metals and fuel. If they aren’t cleaned up and disposed of properly, we take the chance that they’ll leak into ground water, where they can do the most damage.
Following the simple steps above reduces the chance of these materials harming our environment.
To learn more about other ways to help protect our planet, get back to the basics of recycling and visit Basic Recycling is Better Recycling.
Fireworks and Fire Safety
Hot or unused fireworks can cause fires within your garbage container or within the garbage truck. Here are samples of a cart that caught fire and melted and a load of material that caught fire within a garbage truck and had to be ejected and extinguished on the street. Please thoroughly soak fireworks with water before disposing of them.
Read Up on Recycling
