Why is Carson City’s landfill routinely catching on fire? Noted in an article of July 27, 2025 “Fire Department called to fire at Carson City landfill” in CarsonNow.org, “…recent fires at the landfill have been due to combustible materials and batteries.” Another article in CarsonNow.org from September 2021 states “To the best of our knowledge, the primary source of our landfill fires over the last several years has been lithium-ion batteries that are being discarded in the trash,” said Cooley.”
Carson City is HQ of Redwood Materials. They recycle lithium-ion batteries. According to their website, they accept consumer devices with lithium-ion batteries for recycling.
Getting the public to do an action requires convenience. It’s more convenient to throw used lithium-ion batteries into household trash than it is to make a trip to a drop off location for recycling. Carson City does not have curbside recycling with separate bins.
How much is it costing taxpayers to have fire personnel routinely called to the landfill to put out a fire? How is it affecting the environment?
Individual households are not going to have lithium-ion batteries for disposal on a weekly basis, but the community at large could have a substantial amount. Obviously enough to start fires at the landfill frequently.
Wouldn’t it be better then, to provide a bin for discarded consumer lithium-ion battery devices that a household or complex could set out alongside their regular trash pickup? The refuse company picking up weekly trash could have a bin on their truck to empty the curbside bins into. If Redwood Materials were willing to provide receptacles where the trash trucks could drop off the lithium-ion batteries collected from their routes as the trash trucks enter the landfill, it could potentially reduce the fires at the landfill, reduce fire personnel being called in and improve the environment.
The landfill lies above the Carson River. All the toxins from whatever is dumped at the landfill have the potential to seep into the river as well as any groundwater table under it.
If elected officials from Carson City could come together and meet with Redwood Materials, the various refuse companies in the area and the landfill operations personnel, I bet there could be a solution to at least minimize lithium-ion batteries going to the landfill therefore reducing fires at it.
If there are other counties that utilize the landfill they should also be included. Redwood Materials could also be encouraged to work with Douglas County and its transfer station.
— April Stephens
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