There have been six fires in Peoria sanitation trucks this year.

The cause: improper disposal of lithium batteries.

LeAnn Miller, environmental coordinator for the city’s solid waste division, said these items should never be thrown in the trash or recycling bin, but instead be disposed of safely at a designated drop-off location.

And the timing for residents to do so happens to be right, as the city is hosting its annual Peoria Recycles Day on Saturday, Nov. 16., at the Peoria Sports Complex, 16101 N 83rd Ave.

The event, from 8 a.m. to noon, will give Peoria residents the opportunity to recycle items that cannot be disposed of in their bins at home, and also a place to shred their documents.

“We've had a lot of (sanitation) truck fires due to lithium batteries … and that's due to people or residents placing items that don't belong in either their trash can or their recycle can,” Miller said. 

Peoria Recycles Day is meant to help residents learn more about recycling in their community and how to participate in keeping the environment safe and clean. 

“This (event) is to teach our residents that we do offer these services to make sure these items get recycled and not actually just thrown in the landfill,” Miller said. 

Peoria Recycles Day not only gives residents a proper channel to recycle potentially dangerous items, it also ensures these items are being reused and kept from landfills. 

Peoria works with two vendors for the event, one for electronics and one for appliances to make sure everything is properly diverted for reuse or recycling, Miller said. 

The appliance vendor removes freon from any household appliances brought to the event and sends any non-recyclable parts to the landfill, and the electronics vendor disposes of the lithium batteries and refurbishes the devices to be reused, Miller said. 

The event often has a large turnout, with most residents taking advantage of the document shredding, Miller said. 

The last time Miller attended Peoria Recycles Day there were about 300 to 350 cars, where many chose to shred their documents.

“That's the major thing for the residents. They take advantage of the electronics and the appliances, but we have two trucks at every event that we do for the Peoria Recycles Day and those two trucks get filled,” Miller said. 

The following appliances can be recycled: refrigerators, stoves, microwaves, dishwashers, water heaters, coolers, small AC units, and other common household appliances.

Electronic devices are accepted for this event include: computers, laptops, monitors, phones, tablets, small printers, game consoles and more.

For document shredding, the city asks residents to use a sturdy box (up to 17" x 12" x 11.5"), remove paper clips, staples, and rubber bands, and to limit the number of boxes being brought to three per household. 

In order to participate in Peoria Recycles Day residents do not need an appointment. However, residents do need to provide proof of Peoria residency.