Barnet Council said the explosion was caused by a combustible item, such as gas canisters or bottles, batteries or aerosols, being wrongly placed into a general waste bin.
The lorry’s impactor crushed the item and it then exploded, firing out debris into the street, but luckily just missing the bin crew.
Councillor Alan Schneiderman, cabinet member for environment and climate change, said: “The video is incredibly shocking, and we’re relieved that the crew members escaped unharmed.
“I hope this helps people to understand how important it is to properly recycle items such as gas canisters and bottles, batteries and aerosols, as on another day we might not have been so lucky.”
The incident follows a spate of similarly dangerous events, with local authorities across the country increasingly alarmed at the risk to employees from wrongly disposed of items, particularly batteries.
Earlier this month, Sefton Council on Merseyside said one of its refuse wagons was set alight after batteries were placed in a residential bin.
Barnet Council urged the public to get rid of combustible waste at local recycling centres.
