Noosa fire at Doonan Resource Recovery Centre linked to improperly disposed battery

A single discarded battery likely sparked a blaze that shut a Queensland waste facility for a full day, with council warning residents about the dangers of improper disposal.

Waste co-ordinator Peita Otterbach said the blaze, which closed the Eumundi Noosa Rd facility all day, likely started from a battery in the steel stockpile area.

“This is the second blaze we’ve had at one of our waste facilities recently, believed to be ignited by an incorrectly disposed battery,” Ms Otterbach said.

She reminded residents that signs at the Resource Recovery Centre clearly explain that batteries must be handed to the transfer station, not dumped elsewhere on site.

“It is free to dispose of batteries and if they’re embedded in an item such as an old e-bike or e-scooter, then simply take the whole item to the transfer station attendant for disposal. Do not dump it with the battery still in place,” she said.

“Discarded batteries have significant potential to cause harm if they’re not disposed of correctly.

Ms Otterbach added that lithium-ion batteries had been linked to house and garage fires, and the potential for fire increased once they entered the waste stream.

The Queensland Fire Department reports more than 200 battery‑sparked fires across the state in the first 11 months of 2025 alone, averaging about one fire every two days.

Many of these fires involved lithium-ion batteries in e-bikes, e-scooters, vapes, cordless tools, and household electronics.

“Incorrectly disposed batteries are now one of the leading causes of fires in kerbside waste collection trucks across Queensland, and Noosa is no exception. This risk is increasingly affecting waste facilities, most recently yesterday’s fire, which forced the closure of our major Doonan Resource Recovery Centre, which was incredibly disruptive for our community,” Ms Otterbach said.

She urged residents to take responsibility for their waste.

“People must be mindful that they have an obligation to dispose of their own rubbish responsibly. That can be done very easily by sorting batteries from other material they’re taking to our waste and recycling facilities and checking with the transfer station attendant where to put them,” she said.