Dispose of bonfire night fireworks responsibly

Islanders are being reminded to dispose of fireworks responsibly, so as not to put themselves, as well as waste collection workers and staff at waste and recycling facilities, at risk of harm.

Waste minimisation and sustainability officer Douglas Button said that used fireworks of all types should be left to cool down for at least 30 minutes following the end of a display, and then soaked in water for at least an hour. He said that unused fireworks should also be soaked, but for 24 hours, so as to prevent the risk of them igniting during the disposal process.

‘Do not be tempted to store unused fireworks for another day, as they pose a fire risk,’ he added.

After being soaked, Mr Button said fireworks should then be wrapped in plastic so that they did not dry out again, and placed in general household waste for disposal.

He emphasised the importance of never disposing of them in recycling, due to the potential danger that this posed to collection crews.

‘In general waste the remains of the fireworks will get crushed up, so it’ll be far safer.’

Despite sparklers being made of metal, Mr Button said that these should also be soaked in water and disposed of in general household waste, whether used or unused.

He added that islanders had historically been sensible when it came to firework disposal, and he personally had never experienced an incident where a firework had ignited during the disposal process at Guernsey Waste’s headquarters.

However, he said relaying the messages surrounding safe disposal each year helped serve as a reminder of what to do.

‘Most of the calls we get are from people who aren’t sure how to go about it, rather than people who have disposed of them incorrectly,’ he said.

‘But the risks if something goes wrong are high, so we need people to be aware and vigilant.’

n Full details of public and private firework events, together with sales, health and safety advice can be found at https://gov.gg/fireworks.