BLUEMOMENT

https://www.gov.uk/government/consultat ... rotechnics

consultation on what to do with expired/damaged flares. worth reading and if you feel strongly, give input to the consultation.
the main driver appears to be the cost to the MCA for the existing system, £250K per annum (18 collection sites) and the DfT Department for Transport want to shift to their preferred solution of "industry led self regulation" = pass these costs to someone else.

the consultation misses a few important principles:
MCA DfT and the encouragement of safe practices
the role of flares in search and rescue

if flares become too expensive to buy and difficult to dispose of, their use will decline. Is that good or not? are the alternatives (lazer flares, AIS, MMSI/DSC vhf, mobiles and satphones) effective enough? would the RNLI and MCA prefer that we have flares to use in the case of emergencies or not?
If a flare is not carried and a search and rescue operation is extended by a few hours or a casualty is missed/lost could not be located because no flares were used, then the cost of annual disposal scheme pales into insignificance.
Flares are dangerous and in my own case, the hassle of disposing of out of date flares is a major reason I carry less and less flares as the years go by. A red laser flare is safer on board, easy to test and check that it works......but are these good enough if the occasion to use them in anger arises?

The purchase cost of a flare should include an amount to deal with disposal on expiry. Instead of paying say 10 quid for the flare, then 5 quid three years later to dispose of, the flare should cost 15 quid upfront but include a voucher for a fiver that gets redeemed on disposal and covers the cost of disposal.

I don't see why the mca should have to find the budget to dispose of other people's hazardous rubbish.

Same goes for batteries (AA and the like) in my opinion. People just chuck them in the bin, and we end up with toxic metals in landfill. For those I'd have something like the deposit scheme on glass irn bru bottles (although sadly they don't do it anymore).

Generally, the polluter pays.

polluter pays: who's the polluter? the person buying the product and carelessly disposing of it or the company who makes it?

Giving back money for returning an empty bottle a few days/weeks after buying it is very different from paying for "token" or certificate that should be honored in 3 years time. Would you give the manufacturer or your local chandlery £5 and trust them to deliver that service in 3 years time? Given the specialist nature of flares, a "disposal token" might work, but who guarantee it?

That said, a contribution from the price of a flare to an ongoing disposal system run by the MCA or other govt agency might be acceptable, but would the cost increase just reduce flare use even more?

Maybe the real answer is to get rid of pyrotechnic flares completely. dangerous, expensive, toxic...do they really save lives or are the new laser flares etc a good enough replacement?

If there is a genuine reason to keep them and that it what the MCA, RNLI, police want, then they should avoid any scheme that makes it more difficult and expensive than it currently is

have you say in the consultation. its open until March 15

I heard of two chaps that broke into the chandlers and stole some batteries and flares. The police caught them. The guy with the batteries got charged. The guy with the flares got let off.