Flares Disposal

From December 2022 HM Coastguard, the Police, and the MoD no longer offer a flare disposal service to private individuals.

Under the Explosives Regulations 2014, any person who disposes of explosives - which includes flares and smokes - must ensure they are disposed of legally.

Ribbands Explosives provides a disposal service for all types of marine pyrotechnics for a small unit fee. You simply deliver your time-expired or damaged flares directly to a site near Diss in Norfolk, pre-booked on notified days.

This avoids expensive explosives transport charges as you are permitted to transport a small quantity of your own explosive material in any vehicle. The items do not fall under complex waste regulations until they arrive at the disposal site.

We're primarily an explosives research and consultancy site but are open for flares drop-offs by appointments on Saturdays throughout the year.

Upcoming drop-off days are as follows (we're open from 11:00am to 2:00pm):

• Saturday, 14th November 2026
• Saturday, 20th March 2027

Please note that due to our main work commitments, we are unable to accept flares drop-off at other times.

Full instructions, a contact telephone number, site address and the drop-off point will be emailed upon successful payment. If you do not receive this email, please look in your spam/junk email folder.