Aug 20, 2024

The safe collection and disposal of expired pyrotechnic distress flares used to be available through the Canadian Power and Sail Squadrons, (now called CanBoat). This year, their funding for the collection program was cancelled. Transport Canada used to provide a grant to support the CanBoat / CPS flare collection program giving boaters a clear and agnostic path to recycling flares and at no personal cost, but that funding was cut this year, apparently as a result of budget realignments or changing priorities.

While the marine industry and marinas and chandleries in particular, are affected by the issue of how to dispose of expired pyrotechnic distress flares, it is really our boating customers who are left holding the bag. The “bag” is often a significant number of expired distress flares that start to “weep” dangerous chemicals as they age.

Some chandleries will take back expired flares (usually subject to various conditions) but many do not. Worse, expired pyrotechnic distress flares cannot be discarded in household garbage, set off a flare unless there is a genuine emergency, cannot ever be discarded in the water nor buried on land due to leakage of toxic chemicals. Recycling centres won’t accept them and for insurance and safety reasons, fewer and fewer courier or delivery services are willing to ship or transport flares. The flare manufacturers will accept the return of their brand of expired flares but many boaters cannot get transportation or shipping. In short, there is no longer a clear path to recycling these flares when they expire.

We believe that boaters and the marine industry should support reinstating the CanBoat / CPS flare collection program by sending a letter to Canada’s Minister of Transportation.

To make this easier and faster, we have developed a form letter that anyone can use. Here’s what we ask you to do: click here to print out the attached letter that is addressed to:

The Honourable Pablo Rodriguez, Minister of Transport.

TC.MinisterofTransport-MinistredesTransports.TC@tc.gc.ca 

Share this letter with your boating customers and invite them to also make the request. The letter includes an email address to send a copy to me, Andy Adams at Canadian Boating magazine; aadams@kerrwil.com . We will count the emails sent to Transport Canada and will report that back to you.

Please take a few minutes to do this right now and share this with your customers through your own email and communications channels.

It’s matter of everyone’s safety.

Andy Adams – Editor
Canadian Boating magazine
Boating Industry Canada News Week Digest