WEST COCOA, Fla. — Residents of a quiet cul de sac in West Cocoa saw firsthand Wednesday what can happen when someone doesn't recycle correctly.

At about noon, the load of a Waste Management recycling truck caught fire. The mess took hours to clean up, blocking parts of the road.

Helen Conigliaro just moved to the neighborhood and lives at the cul de sac where the truck dumped its load after catching fire. 

"We just moved in, so this is the most exciting thing to happen," Conigliaro laughed.

Amy Boyson of Waste Management in Brevard County said that according to their preliminary investigation, the cause of the fire seems to be pool chemicals and some wire.

Now, they're asking residents to pay attention to recycling items, such as plastic bottles, aluminum cans, paper, cardboard, and glass.

According to Boyson, every time a load catches fire, the company is required to dump it to salvage the truck, which are worth about $400,000 each. 

Because the driver did not panic and did what he was trained to do, no one was hurt, and the truck did not sustain damage. But because the chemicals contaminated the recyclables, the load is going to end up in a landfill.

"Just be careful what you put in the recycle bin. It probably was smoldering in there for a while," Conigliaro said.