Fire incidents at North American recycling and waste facilities reached 49 in August, tying the 10-year high for the month and pushing the year-to-date total to 293 — a pace only behind the 300 incidents reported through August in both 2024 and 2025.

The figure comes from fire prevention consultant Ryan Fogelman of Fire Rover, whose September fire report tracks publicly reported blazes at US and Canadian facilities. The August number matches the highest August total in the decade he has recorded statistics, keeping pace with an above-average July.

The damage profile is the more troubling signal. Of the 293 incidents logged through August, 74 qualify as catastrophic — defined as causing at least $400,000 in damage. That already exceeds the 71 catastrophic fires recorded in all of 2024, with four months of the year still to run.

"Whatever is driving these fires is producing more total losses, not just more incidents," Fogelman said.

What is driving the incident count?

Fogelman pointed to vapes as a major contributor. The waste, paper and plastics facility category — where disposed-of vapes frequently end up — has seen incidents climb from 91 through the first months of 2016 to 161 over the same period now.

North American data mirrors what operators abroad are reporting:

• Biffa, the British waste collector, estimated 480,000 vapes passed through its facilities in June and July alone.
• Material Focus cited discarded batteries as a main cause of a near-doubling in UK waste system fires between 2022 and 2024.

"Every one of these numbers has a mirror image in the North American data I track," Fogelman said.

Is mitigation working?

The counter-trend in the data is modest but potentially significant. Year-to-date fires are down 2.3% through August. If that decline holds through the rest of 2026, it would mark the first non-pandemic annual drop in fire incidents since Fogelman began the report.

Several individual months posted sharper year-over-year declines: January fell 31%, March dropped 21% and April slipped 19%.

"Those declines coincide with expanded disposal education, retailer takeback efforts and municipal battery collection programs," Fogelman said. "The data alone cannot establish causation, but the pattern is worth watching."

On the policy side, remedies under discussion include a deposit return system — which Biffa supports — and mandatory recycling for problematic devices.

What happens after Labor Day?

Operators should not expect seasonal relief. Fogelman said the past two years show what was once a summer fire surge now extends across roughly half the year, pointing to above-average months through early fall.

"Plans based on the assumption that risk declines after Labor Day should be re-evaluated," he said.

What the count actually captures

The report counts only publicly reported fires, generally two alarms or greater, since those are the incidents that make the news. Fogelman estimates actual incident totals run six times higher than the published figures.

Battery and vape safety will be on the agenda at the 2026 E-Scrap: The Longevity Conference, scheduled for Oct. 26–28 in New Orleans — the next industry checkpoint for whether education and takeback programs can convert a 2.3% dip into a sustained downward trend.