A viral video recently made the rounds online, depicting what could've been a fatal accident. A sanitation worker is doing their job, unloading a garbage can into a truck. As the garbage can is being lowered and the worker goes to carry it off, it suddenly explodes. You can watch the horrifying video below (don't worry -- there's nothing graphic or obscene).
Videos by Wide Open Country
Aerosol can inside trash can nearly takes out sanitation worker pic.twitter.com/k4ivQ54RLj
— New York Post (@nypost) September 29, 2024
"Omg that is so scary. My husband is a sanitation worker and ppl have no idea how to separate their garbage," one Instagram user commented. Many other users were disturbed by the video, but one question lingered on most viewers' minds: what the heck happened? Well, it appears as though an aerosol can was the culprit of the exploding garbage can.
"How does something like that happen?" I hear you ask. So, "non-empty" aerosol cans, it turns out, are incredibly dangerous if not properly disposed of. The Department of Toxic Substances Control details the risks of aerosol cans and how they can even be "ignitable, corrosive, or toxic."
An Exploding Garbage Can Prompts People To Ponder The Cause
"Non-empty" basically means that there's still something in the aerosol can -- propellant or otherwise. Most aerosol cans use "ignitable propellants such as propane, butane, or liquefied petroleum gas (LPG), making most non-empty waste aerosol cans ignitable hazardous wastes." Aerosol cans are pressurized with many materials or elements that could be immensely harmful if poorly handled.
That's to say nothing of the potential of the can's contents leaking out and causing a chemical reaction that could seriously injure someone. A puncture, excessive heat, corrosion, or a faulty valve could cause an aerosol can to explode. The best thing to do for aerosol can disposal is to empty its contents fully before throwing it away.
If you can't do that, the next step is to contact a service that specializes in special collection for hazardous chemicals. You can also recycle the aerosol can! Now, I understand the futility of this article. To "properly dispose" of anything would be inconvenient, wouldn't it? "Why do all that when I can throw it in the trash and be done with it?" I'm merely the messenger. You live your life the way you want to! But now that you have this information, you lose plausible deniability if you harm yourself (or someone else) with your poor aerosol can disposal decisions!
