Distress flare disposal. Expired pyrotechnics

[prv]

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out TEP's for free, several forum people contributed to my large, comforting arsenal of red rockets..not all even out of date, due to coded yachts having to get rid.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've got a bag of rockets and floating smokes if you want them? Genuine offer. Expired end of 2013 I think. Southampton police station told me on the phone they'd take them, then after making me wait an hour for them to come back from lunch, they decided that actually they wouldn't.

The local (to my house) council tip takes them, always worth a try, I don't think they really know what they are accepting..

Someone here said that the Southampton tip recently accepted his. I tried that and they said no. As you say, the person he asked probably didn't know what they were, and after that they probably all got briefed to refuse them.

Pete

 

[awol]

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.

Mind you, with the cost of placcy bags these days deep sixing the things in the appropriate places may be more economic.

 

[prv]

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.

I have serious doubts that the civilian on the front desk of my local police station would accept them under such circumstances, even if genuine. 50/50 chance she'd mentally categorise it along with all the yachtsmen trying to hand theirs in (she had the "we don't accept them" leaflet ready to hand) and say they were your problem now.

Pete

 

[caiman]

If you live in Gwynedd,the council will take TEPs via a Harbour Masters office.The local HM took mine and also some that had been dumped outside our Lifeboat Station.Cheers

 

[JumbleDuck]

I have serious doubts that the civilian on the front desk of my local police station would accept them under such circumstances, even if genuine. 50/50 chance she'd mentally categorise it along with all the yachtsmen trying to hand theirs in (she had the "we don't accept them" leaflet ready to hand) and say they were your problem now.

An argument for leaving them where you find them and calling 101 to report. Maybe even 999 - dangerous things, explosives. I expect the rogues who dump such things would be careful to avoid CCTV cameras too.

 

[jerrytug]

I've got a bag of rockets and floating smokes if you want them? Genuine offer. Expired end of 2013 I think. Southampton police station told me on the phone they'd take them, then after making me wait an hour for them to come back from lunch, they decided that actually they wouldn't.



Someone here said that the Southampton tip recently accepted his. I tried that and they said no. As you say, the person he asked probably didn't know what they were, and after that they probably all got briefed to refuse them.

Pete

That's a very kind offer Pete, but my canisters are full to overflowing!

 

[Nick Vass]

Odeo distress flare

Hi Gwylan
We don't have distress flares anymore. I don't buy them.

We instead have a Odeo flare www.odeoflare.co.uk
Made by Daniamant Ltd in Portsmouth www.daniamant.co.uk

The Odeo electronic distress flare uses batteries that I can replace myself. The Odeo does not expire and is not dangerous

We also have PLBs and a DSC VHF plus handheld

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

 

[Seajet]

Nick,

is there any feedback from SAR helicopter crew re ' Laser Flares ' ? Having used light-amplifying Night Vision Goggles - NVG's - I'd have thought there may be a problem ?

JumbleDuck,

too right, I have dozens of decades old flres in secure ammo' boxes, and funnily enough no-one fancies taking them, !

All my flares have serial numbers, so in these days of NCIS I'd think they were easily traceable if I was the sort of b*****d who dumps them at sea to get rolled ashore for children to play with.

The local explosives dumping ground, Hurd Deep, has failed on that score, while very deep - a useful nav' feature - there are still decades old flares and explosives washed up around Brighton & Worthing.

I asked an ex- RAF Safety Equipment chum about disposing of old flares, he went pale and changed the subject.

November 5th - well inland so as not to be confused with flares - used to be the answer, then as the flares got older I clamped them in a workmate in the back garden and used a line to pull the triggers, now I'm not even sure I want to do that, bring on the Smart Watches, " Calling International Rescue " !

 

[l'escargot]

I have serious doubts that the civilian on the front desk of my local police station would accept them under such circumstances, even if genuine. 50/50 chance she'd mentally categorise it along with all the yachtsmen trying to hand theirs in (she had the "we don't accept them" leaflet ready to hand) and say they were your problem now.

Pete

Bring them to Newport, the lost property office deal with them and you don't even have to fill in a form anymore.

 

[neil1967]

I have taken mine to two different civic amenity sites in North West London (Harrow & Wealdstone and one near Northolt), and both took my TEPs without any problems.

 

[Seajet]

There was the true story of a bin lorry going through our village, some berk had thrown old flares in his bin and they got munched so somehow ignited; result, bin wagon with a trail of fire & smoke the Red Arrows would have been proud of !

 

[prv]

November 5th - well inland so as not to be confused with flares - used to be the answer, then as the flares got older I clamped them in a workmate in the back garden and used a line to pull the triggers, now I'm not even sure I want to do that

I guess that's the problem with letting them get so old before finding a solution.

I'm quite happy with letting off my hand flares in the garden, but doing the same with smokes would be a nuisance to my neighbours, and the problem with rockets is that they're still burning when they come down.

Pete

 

[Nick Vass]

Our neighbour Miles is a current RAF test pilot and came back a year ago from Falklands. He has been a SAR helicopter pilot. Miles comes sailing sometimes and saw my Odeo both at home and on the boat. He just smiled, shrugged and didn't have any comment or objection.

I would have thought that looking at a conventional flare through night vision glasses would hurt too! Best not to try.

No, I don't have any feedback from SAR officially because I don't make them and have not asked anyone else.

Perhaps you could ask them and let us know what they say.

In the mean time I shall continue to have it on-board and hope that I never have to use it.

I will never buy conventional flares again.

My advice would be to return out of date flares to where you bought them. Polluter pays laws mean that the seller is obliged to have a plan of disposal at end of life. But they can charge.

Odeo flares are sold by Ocean Safety Ltd of Southampton and Daniamant make good lifejacket and lifebuoy lights. Both are responsible good companies.

Nick,

is there any feedback from SAR helicopter crew re ' Laser Flares ' ? Having used light-amplifying Night Vision Goggles - NVG's - I'd have thought there may be a problem ?

JumbleDuck,

too right, I have dozens of decades old flres in secure ammo' boxes, and funnily enough no-one fancies taking them, !

All my flares have serial numbers, so in these days of NCIS I'd think they were easily traceable if I was the sort of b*****d who dumps them at sea to get rolled ashore for children to play with.

The local explosives dumping ground, Hurd Deep, has failed on that score, while very deep - a useful nav' feature - there are still decades old flares and explosives washed up around Brighton & Worthing.

I asked an ex- RAF Safety Equipment chum about disposing of old flares, he went pale and changed the subject.

November 5th - well inland so as not to be confused with flares - used to be the answer, then as the flares got older I clamped them in a workmate in the back garden and used a line to pull the triggers, now I'm not even sure I want to do that, bring on the Smart Watches, " Calling International Rescue " !

 

[Seajet]

Nick,

I don't know any pilots current enough to comment on the pro's & cons of laser flares with NVG's, which is why I asked you.

I'll see if I can research the subject a bit though, seems it might be helpful to yotties and maybe even pilots.

Don't hold your breath !

Andy

 

[Daydream believer]

At our model flying field we had a 40 gallon oil drum as a brazier for disposable waste such as bits of RC plane & paper. One day - just before lighting- our chairman removed some coke tins which obviously would not burn. To his surprise he found some idiot had dumped over a dozen flares. There will always be idiots but the difficulty of disposal just makes this sort of thing more common

 

[Daydream believer]

Is disposal of old flares that hard? What does one need to get a license? Has anyone researched it? Surely someone could make a profit at £ 1-25 each for disposal & i might pay that to get rid of them. Presumably it is only an incinerator with a gas burner in a secure steel casing. Or is it?
Come to that is the question of licensing just a rumour. Who does the licensing?
What is to stop me doing it in a field somewhere with a furnace in a trailer on the back of the car
Surprised that the pikeys - sorry travellers -have not cottoned on

 

[Nick Vass]

Well done Daydream. Well send them all to you

Retreat Boatyard have researched this extensively and built a test incinerator. Fire Service would not give consent as too close to M5 motorway.
The Fire Service control this kind of thing.
I doubt that you could make it work charging £1.25 per flare. How would people bring them to you? I can't see people driving more than say 20 miles to drop them off.
I come back to my point, and I don't want to go on about this any more.
The manufacturer should be the one who takes on the responsibility of disposing of what they made. Yes, they should charge a little but it is their responsibility.
Until they do, I won't be buying any more of them.

 

[Poignard]

I don't see why those chandlers who sell flares shouldn't be required to accept the time-expired flares being replaced; on a one-for-one basis.

They could make a small charge for disposing of the old ones; in the same way that tyre dealers do

http://www.atseuromaster.co.uk/car-services/environmental-tyre-disposal

 

[ghostlymoron]

There was the true story of a bin lorry going through our village, some berk had thrown old flares in his bin and they got munched so somehow ignited; result, bin wagon with a trail of fire & smoke the Red Arrows would have been proud of !

You sure that's true and not an urban myth.

 

[Gwylan]

Yes it's the direction we are going. Certainly not going through this mess again.

Odeo flare or similar and PLB's for everyone, £600 on PLBs over 7 years makes flares look expensive and out of place.

Would love a PLB with AIS.
I have some doubts about my co-owner/crew coping with the task of engaging the AIS to find me when I fall over-board combined with starting the engine, stopping the sails and putting out a Mayday.

Hence I will have to put my faith in the PLB and the good people at Falmouth doing their stuff. Staying clipped on should reduce the probability anyway. Spent last winter installing extra reinforced clip on points about the place.

But we prefer not to think about those things.