A garbage truck fire on Sydney's M5 motorway this week caused major traffic disruption, with the westbound motorway closed for an extended period while emergency crews worked to control the fire and deal with the burning load.

The incident is another reminder of the very real fire risks faced by waste collection vehicles.

Fires can develop inside the hopper of a garbage truck with little warning. Once a fire takes hold in a compacted load of mixed waste, access can be difficult and the fire can be challenging to control. In many cases, the truck operator's only option is to stop the vehicle and discharge the burning load – creating risks for the driver, surrounding traffic, emergency responders and the environment.

A dedicated garbage truck fire suppression system can provide an important first line of defence.

ENCAPS has developed a purpose-built garbage truck fire suppression system designed specifically for waste collection vehicles.

The system combines a BlazeCut automatic fire suppression cylinder with F-500 Encapsulator Agent (F-500 EA), a water-based fire suppression agent designed to rapidly control heat and suppress difficult fires.

Image courtesy of Sydney Morning herald.

This article in the WMR features our various solutions for Lithium Battery Fires in the Waste and Recycling sector.

The waste and recycling industry says it's fighting up to 12,000 fires a year caused by discarded lithium-ion batteries and has warned that consumers will ultimately pay for the crisis without change.

State and territory Environment Ministers will meet with federal counterpart Tanya Plibersek on Friday to discuss better battery management.

Ahead of the meeting, the waste and recycling sector has issued an urgent call for more safe drop-off points for batteries — which cannot be safely managed in general waste streams.

The Waste Recycling Industry Association Queensland (WRIQ) has announced ENCAPS as the overall winner of the 2025 Lithium Battery Innovation Challenge, recognising its outstanding contribution to factory safety, fire prevention with F-500 EA technology, and resource recovery within Queensland's waste and recycling industry.

Laptop left charging on bed causes house fire in Bendigo

Lithium-ion batteries are causing more than 10,000 fires a year in Australia. Waste chiefs say an 'urgent' management plan is needed.
By Emily Baker, ABC News

9NEWS: Home damaged after suspected electric vehicle fire.

NSW Government inquest to examine deaths and serious fires caused by Lithium-ion batteries.

The Guardian: ‘Fastest-growing fire risk’: why do lithium batteries keep exploding across Australia?