Empty your boat lockers and dispose of your marine flares before they become unstable
A Cowes Week flare amnesty will be taking place tomorrow at the Cowes Harbour Office car park on the Isle of Wight.
The flare amnesty, devised by Ramora
UK and Hampshire Constabulary, has seen 5,000 flares handed in
and donations of more than £3,000 since it started in April of this
year.
Two more amnesties are planned before the end of 2014 and an extra date has been added to coincide with Cowes Week:
Friday, 1 August: 11am – 4pm at Cowes Harbour Office car park, Town Quay PO31 7AS
Donations will go to support local youth sailing.
750kg of explosives handed in to date
David Welch, Ramora UK’s
Managing Director, said: ‘Public safety is one of our primary
concerns and we are delighted to be working closely with Hampshire
Constabulary and the various ‘amnesty’ sites as part of this initiative.
‘We
have already recovered in excess of 5,000 flares, which equates to more
than 750kg of explosives and we still have three more events left this
year.’
Safe and compliant means of disposal
Sarah
Thorpe, Hampshire Constabulary’s Energy and Environmental Compliance
Advisor added: ‘These amnesties provide a safe and compliant way to
dispose of flares; reducing the potential risks to both people and the
environment through inappropriate and irresponsible disposal methods.
‘I’m
delighted that just half way through this series of amnesties we have
removed such a large number of potentially dangerous flares from the
public domain whilst at the same time raising money for a very
worthwhile cause.’
Ramora UK,
one of the UK’s leading Bomb Disposal companies, has joined forces with
Hampshire Constabulary in providing a solution for the disposal of out
of date marine pyrotechnics (Flares).
The purpose of the
partnership is two-fold and alongside the removal of potentially lethal
explosive items from the public domain, it is also hoped that donations
received from those handing in their flares will be used to fund a
dinghy for youngsters who would not normally have access to the water.
Sergeant
Damon Kennard, Hampshire Constabulary Marine Unit, said: ‘The number of
out of date flares handed in shows that this is a worthwhile public
safety initiative and we are delighted to be working with Ramora UK.
‘Our
aim is to promote public safety whilst at the same time putting
something back into youth activities in the form of a sailing dinghy for
local sailing clubs.’
The Aberdeen Asset Management Cowes Week takes place this year from Saturday 2 August to Saturday 9 August 2014.