Getting rid of old flares...

[Fourbees]

... no, not the trousers some of us wore in the seventies... I mean pyrotechnic flares, as in parachute rockets etc.. There is often a problem getting rid of time-expired ones; I have had some success giving them in at chandlers, but only when buying some new ones, and there was a heap of them in our garage until yesterday. On a whim, we took them to our local Council tip/household recycling centre, and to my amazement the operative said " no problem, just put them there mate, we'll dispose of them properly". I said I didn't want to cause a bomb disposal incident but the worker assured me he knew what the flares were. And they didn't charge me.

Is this unusual? Will your Council dispose of TEPs for nowt, or was I just lucky? How do you dispose of yours...?

 

[benjenbav]

... no, not the trousers some of us wore in the seventies... I mean pyrotechnic flares, as in parachute rockets etc.. There is often a problem getting rid of time-expired ones; I have had some success giving them in at chandlers, but only when buying some new ones, and there was a heap of them in our garage until yesterday. On a whim, we took them to our local Council tip/household recycling centre, and to my amazement the operative said " no problem, just put them there mate, we'll dispose of them properly". I said I didn't want to cause a bomb disposal incident but the worker assured me he knew what the flares were. And they didn't charge me.

Is this unusual? Will your Council dispose of TEPs for nowt, or was I just lucky? How do you dispose of yours...?

I asked this question a couple of weeks ago - not on here - and was advised to take them to the police station. I did and it was straightforward. The most they would take in one go was ten and I had to sign a form giving my name and address.

This was Lymington. Don't know whether all police stations do the same. An alternative is coastguard MRCCs.

 

[neil_s]

Yes, I took some old flares to my local tip last summer. I approached the attendant to explain what I had - he took them no problem.

Neil

 

[Thistle]

Yes, I took some old flares to my local tip last summer. I approached the attendant to explain what I had - he took them no problem.

Neil

Thanks for the suggestion. I tried exactly this today and they were accepted with no problem. I believe they were going to store them with the paint in the expectation that the same contractor would remove them. Might be interesting to be a fly on the wall when the contractor comes

At least the tip is provided for the disposal of waste. When did the police gain responsibility for this? The cynic in me wonders if those suggesting this route are the same people who expect the police to do more to respond to their calls and to catch more criminals?

 

[l'escargot]

.... When did the police gain responsibility for this? The cynic in me wonders if those suggesting this route are the same people who expect the police to do more to respond to their calls and to catch more criminals?

Hampshire Police actually suggest it themselves with posters to make people aware and have done for years. It is usually a function carried out in the lost property office by civilian support workers, not police officers.

 

[Searush]

TEP's stored with PAINT? Jeez, that's one way of turning a minor risk into a serious disater area isn't it?

I mean paint is pretty well inert, but flammable. Flares could, just possibly, self-ignite, so adding a load of old paint as fuel seems a curious appraoch to "safety".

 

[xyachtdave]

TEP's stored with PAINT? Jeez, that's one way of turning a minor risk into a serious disater area isn't it?

I mean paint is pretty well inert, but flammable. Flares could, just possibly, self-ignite, so adding a load of old paint as fuel seems a curious appraoch to "safety".

Don't worry, they have put a couple of life jackets in there as well........

 

[SAWDOC]

I ignited a couple of handflares in the back garden the other evening. We live inland. They came with a recent boat purchase. Despite being significantly out of date they performed as good as new.

 

[Searush]

I ignited a couple of handflares in the back garden the other evening. We live inland. They came with a recent boat purchase. Despite being significantly out of date they performed as good as new.

Having been involved in a CG flare firing demo/practice using TEP's I was told that they normally do. But there was a guy seriously injured by a misfiring rocket flare that was actually in date a year or so back - so nothing is guaranteed.

 

[KellysEye]

>But there was a guy seriously injured by a misfiring rocket flare

We were firing old flares under coastguard suprvision in Portugal. A rocket flare exploded in somebodys hand. Fortunately the guy had a thick glove on and was holding the flare well away and was not hurt. I wouldn't ever fire old flares having seen what happened.

 

[Bilgediver]

TEP's stored with PAINT? Jeez, that's one way of turning a minor risk into a serious disater area isn't it?

I mean paint is pretty well inert, but flammable. Flares could, just possibly, self-ignite, so adding a load of old paint as fuel seems a curious appraoch to "safety".

My thoughts exactly and wondered what else was there....Maybe waste oil

 

[Sans Bateau]

Having been involved in a CG flare firing demo/practice using TEP's I was told that they normally do. But there was a guy seriously injured by a misfiring rocket flare that was actually in date a year or so back - so nothing is guaranteed.

It was not a rocket, it was a hand held white smoke! And an note for Kellyseye, the injuries this man received, gloves would have made no difference (I'm sure he would have been wearing gloves) as the hand held device exploded into his body!

 

[bbg]

My thoughts exactly and wondered what else was there....Maybe waste oil

I have posted this image before, but this is how they dispose of out of date flares in France. Drop them in a box - next to out of date batteries (both small and boat batteries - boat batteries on the floor next to the oil drum), waste oil and miscellaneous waste. Fortunately (just out of shot behind the camera) there is also a box for out of date fire extinguishers.