I opened an old flare container in my garage the other day and was horrified to find it contained several old out dated flares. It should have come as no surprise I suppose, as I have no recollection of ever trying to get rid of them. This is probably down to the fact that I, like most people, didn't know how to get rid of them properly. Letting them off on bonfire night is not the right approach. I've never even let off an in date flare, so in light of a conversation with Fleetwood charter skipper Steve Everdell who was very seriously injured by an out dated flare he was moving exploding in his hand, that was not an option. Neither was "dropping" them over board while out at sea.

PHOTO 1: (Photo of out dated flares): With so many flares sold nationally, out dated disposal must to be a large-scale problem, so there had to be a proper way to dispose of them. My first enquiry was to the H. M. Coastguard who said they would get some one to call me back but never did. Next stop was the fire service safety officer who referred me on to the local authority Environmental Health department. As an Environment Protection Officer myself who visits waste disposal facilities on a fairly regular basis, I decided to start making enquiries of the local waste site operator, which in my case is SITA.

PHOTO 2: (Photo of household waste site): SITA operate landfill sites and household waste reception centres in my area. These types of facilities are to be found nation-wide. As householders are likely to have all manner of waste types including toxic chemicals for gardening, and explosive pyrotechnics such as flares, household waste centres are obliged to provide facilities for the acceptance, safe keeping, and disposal of such items.

PHOTO 3: (Photo of chemical safe): Household waste sites should have a secure lockable chemical store. This is the route to take for flares and any other "problem" items that have gone past their use by date.

FOOTNOTE: On the subject of flares and expiry dates, would it be unreasonable to expect manufacturers to print disposal information on the plastic casing of each unit. And on the specific subject of expiry dates, while it is in the public interest for manufacturers to put safe operating limits on their products, is it not also in their best interests to keep recommended life times to a minimum. I am reliably informed that a survey, of which I do not have the details, has looked into the operational life of boat flares, and found no reason why expiry dates could not reasonably be extended by a further 3 years. But until this is officially done, then what it says on the flare is the best you should expect from them, particularly as the small boat club of which I am a member does annual safety checks, and more especially in light of the pain and worry suffered by Steve Everdell during his spell in hospital.