Distress flare disposal. Expired pyrotechnics

Well one hopes that a floating smoke will float!

Actually (legal or not) I suspect that many of us burn off hand helds and smokes on Nov 5th unnoticed - but a degraded rocket will not achieve its design altitude and will certainly still be burning when it arrives back on earth. It may not be as red as it should, though. I seem to remember a coded message from a PBO contributor that they had an old galvanized water tank and fired the rockets in through a hole and let them burn off inside!

Rob.
 
1) I'm not condoning dumping expired flares at sea as has been mentioned, but if all boat owners dumped their expired flares in the sea every year, it would be a "drop in the ocean" (pun intended) compared to what the RN and other organisations legally dump at sea! Sadly our oceans are still used as a dumping ground.

2) From what I understand there are ways that you can legally dispose of expired flares your self - by discharging them a certain distance from the coast on bombfire night for example - which is what we all do here! I've heard you can also discharge them at other times with prior permission - not entirely sure about that. Either way I don't really understand what the big deal is as you're only going to cause a problem if you discharge them upwards into the sky - there are other ways of doing it safely.
 
35mm said:
1) I'm not condoning dumping expired flares at sea as has been mentioned, but if all boat owners dumped their expired flares in the sea every year, it would be a "drop in the ocean" (pun intended) compared to what the RN and other organisations legally dump at sea! Sadly our oceans are still used as a dumping ground.
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Er, no. It's been illegal to dump munitions and pyrotechnics at sea for IIRC about 20 years or more. Once upon a time, I used to be responsible for organising the annual dumping programme; it had become a once every other year event by the time I left the post in the late 80's, 'cos the MOD wasn't throwing enough stuff away to generate a reasonable quantity. Since the dumping stopped, the MOD has used land based disposal companies to recycle where possible and destroy (usually by burning) where recyling is not possible.
 
duncan99210;3981663 Since the dumping stopped said:
Perhaps HMCG could be persuaded to liase with the MoD regarding these disposal companies. Firms which organise firework displays might also start a lucrative sideline in TEP disposal.
I've never heard any discussion whatsoever .of this subject here in Ireland but I have seen expired flares fired off during New Year celebrations in a small southern seaport with the local lifeboat being previously notified
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Put them in the boot of your car and take a cross channel ferry.

You will be asked if you are carrying anything flamable..........

Flares will be confiscated.

Job done. ;)
 
35mm said:
2) From what I understand there are ways that you can legally dispose of expired flares your self - by discharging them a certain distance from the coast on bombfire night for example - which is what we all do here! I've heard you can also discharge them at other times with prior permission - not entirely sure about that. Either way I don't really understand what the big deal is as you're only going to cause a problem if you discharge them upwards into the sky - there are other ways of doing it safely.
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No, it is illegal to let off distress flares ANYWHERE . In the case of parachute rockets, it is very unsafe anyway; as others have remarked, they are still burning when they reach the ground. I'd be very unhappy if someone's time-expired parachute flare landed on my roof!

Distress flares are (potentially) used inland; for example in mountain rescue.
 
AntarcticPilot said:
No, it is illegal to let off distress flares ANYWHERE . In the case of parachute rockets, it is very unsafe anyway; as others have remarked, they are still burning when they reach the ground. I'd be very unhappy if someone's time-expired parachute flare landed on my roof!

Distress flares are (potentially) used inland; for example in mountain rescue.
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The army use white flares on night excersizes. They too can still be burning when they reach ground level as we discovered here when one ignited a garden shed!!!! Not enough allowance for a strong southerly breeze :)
 
Nick Vass said:
Pains Wessex and Comet distress flares are no longer British and are made in Hungary or Poland and owned by Drew Marine Inc, an American company. They no longer have the Highpost countermeasures military site on Salisbury Plain and so can no longer process expired distress flares or make safe defectives ones themselves in the UK.
To me this is not right as advice from them is to take expired flares to HMCG.
I did so last week taking some to Weymouth and Portland Coastguard who would not take them and sent me to the RNLI at Poole HQ who did.
Solent and Brixham HMCG will very reluctantly take in only up to twelve flares. The Coastguard stations that will take time expired pyrotechnics are few and far between. You have to travel long distances carry potentially dangerous explosives in your car.
Some chandlery shops will take in flares but only if you buy the same amount of new ones. Not all shops take them.
Some people buy flares online.
The flares that I disposed of had been dumped in the cockpit of an elderly gentleman’s yacht that he is selling. He is not going to buy new flares and the flares were not his.
In my opinion it should not be up to a charity like the RNLI or cash-strapped public bodies like the HMCG to do the work that the manufacturer should be doing!
I feel that Pains Wessex should build a site that can take back their expired flares and build the cost into the purchase price of a new pack of flares.
End of life corporate responsibility is this called?
What do others think?
Should manufacturers of flares be expected to process out of date pyros?
Nick
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Well Nick, any progress on this?

What should I do? The aeeumption is that there is no way I am going to go through the disposal farce in a couple of years
 
Whatever you do don't offer to give them to other forumites. I did this last year and somebody accused me of being mean and trying to get rid of them on the cheap.

In fact I had to drive further to deliver them to the man who wanted them than I would have done had I taken them to Solent Coastguard's office!
 
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I hope people do continue giving out TEP's for free, several forum people contributed to my large, comforting arsenal of red rockets..not all even out of date, due to coded yachts having to get rid.

I totally agree with Nick that Something Should Be Done.

The local (to my house) council tip takes them, always worth a try, I don't think they really know what they are accepting..
 
awol said:
I believe that finding a plastic bag full of TEPs dumped by the road would prompt a good citizen to take them to his local police station. One could say it was a civic duty to do so.
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I presume that anyone antisocial enough to dump a bag of flares would also be too stupid to wipe all fingerprints carefully off them. Otherwise the police would have a terrible job tracking the miscreant down and taking the action so richly deserved.
 
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