JACKSON, Wyo. — Nobody was injured during a garbage truck fire that ignited this morning at the Trash Transfer Station inside the trash building. It is the second time a fire has started in a local garbage truck in just over a month.
Security footage posted on Facebook by Road to Zero Waste showed a garbage truck dumping a load of trash inside the large waste-holding facility at the Integrated Solid Waste & Recycling (ISWR) transfer station around 9:45 a.m. on Wednesday. As the garbage left the truck and landed on the floor, flames could be seen rising from the pile. Workers from Teton Trash Removal — the company hauling the load — and Yellow Iron Excavating & Waste Removal quickly attacked it with fire extinguishers. Jackson Hole Fire/EMS followed up to make sure the danger was cleared. The preliminary cause of the fire is believed to be batteries that were disposed of improperly.
ISWR’s Waste Diversion Outreach Coordinator Cindy Harger told Buckrail that a similar incident happened on Dec. 10, 2025, though that fire was put out by the commercial garbage truck’s staff at its truck yard. Harger said that there are an estimated 5,000 fires like these at recycling centers around the country each year, and potentially more at trash stations. She considers herself lucky that no similar fires have occurred at the Recycling Center, where her office is located.
“There’s been an increase of fires at recycling centers and trash stations around the country in recent years, because lithium-ion batteries — the rechargeable batteries — are becoming more and more common,” said Harger. “We do want to send our praises to the teams down there [at the transfer station]. … They did a phenomenal job of handling this and not allowing the problem to get worse.”
Preliminary reports by ISWR staff and the fire department showed that batteries were found in the contents of the garbage pile, as well as a child’s toy with the battery or batteries still inside. Harger said that batteries should never be thrown in the garbage because they can leak harmful chemicals into landfills and pose a serious fire danger. The Recycling Center on Adams Canyon Road accepts nearly all types of batteries, including alkaline (standard AA or AAA batteries, for example), lithium-ion batteries smaller than an e-bike battery, and lead-acid batteries like those found in vehicles.
According to Harger, the Dec. 10 incident occurred around 1 p.m. when a truck driver initiated the garbage compactor during a route and noticed something like an explosion inside the truck before smoke appeared from the trash. The driver drove back to the truck yard and staff doused the truck with water until it was thoroughly out. The truck was then driven to the Trash Transfer Station where an examination of the contents took place.
“What they found was a number of remote controls with batteries still in them, and handfuls of AA and AAA batteries,” Harger said. “So what it looks like is that perhaps a hotel had done a clean out of their TVs or remotes and swapped those out.”
It is a reminder that even small alkaline batteries can cause serious damage. Learn more about proper battery use and disposal tips from JH Fire/EMS here.
