Firefighters are working to understand what started a blaze inside a rubbish truck after the load of industrial waste and "unknown hazardous chemicals" had to be dumped in Auckland's Avondale.
1News footage from near Saunders Place showed a huge pile of rubbish on fire near a JJ's Waste and Recycling truck.
A Fire and Emergency spokesperson confirmed crews received a call just after 9.30am to reports of a rubbish truck fire.
Two trucks, one hazmat crew and one support unit were sent to the incident.
Senior station officer Josh Nicholls said crews found the driver "discharging the mixed waste onto the road, that's been well involved".
"Subsequently, we've seen that it's full of mixed waste, medical waste, industrial waste, and other unknown hazardous chemicals," he said.
He said crews were still trying to determine the cause of the blaze, but it highlighted "some of the complexities that our firefighters face on a daily within a fast-growing city".
Nicholls reminded people to "just to consider what you're putting in the waste", particularly volatile items such as lithium-ion (LI) batteries.
"Read what you can put in your waste, and disperse within the respective skip bins or waste bins that you have on your sites.
"FENZ has definitely seen a significant rise in waste fires based off LI incidents, LI batteries, and obviously they dispose of stuff inappropriately."
A fire investigator would also attend the scene.
JJ's Waste and Recycling has been contacted for comment.
Seventeen rubbish truck fires so far this year – Auckland Council
Auckland Council said it was unable to comment on this specific incident as it was not a council-owned truck involved.
However, rubbish truck fires previously reported to Auckland Council had been found to be the result of batteries, including lithium-ion, placed in household rubbish igniting in the truck.
Auckland Council's general manager of waste solutions Justine Haves said there had been 17 truck fires in council waste collection trucks in 2026 so far.
"When a truck fire incident happens in a council collection truck, the council covers the cost of cleaning up the material. The cost depends on several factors including the size of the pile, equipment, materials requiring special disposal, ensuring no waste enters stormwater, etc. Typically, the cost is between $2000 and $5000 per incident, Haves said.
"Other costs include, if a recycling load, the loss of recycling as the load will be sent to landfill and also the logistics of having another truck to complete the collection route.
"Damage normally occurs to electrics and hydraulics, plus the signwriting on the body. The fleet is owned by the contractor, which covers the cost of any repairs needed to the truck."
Haves said these fires "put waste collection crews, recycling facility staff, emergency responders and the public at risk".
"They also damage vehicles and infrastructure, disrupt local roads and services, and release harmful contaminants into the environment.
"Too often, people think of old electronics as rubbish when they could still be repaired, refurbished or reused. And if a device has reached the end of its life, specialist recyclers can recover valuable materials that would otherwise be lost."
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