Free Expired Marine Flare Collection Events Set Across California, With Three Southern California Sites on October 24
Sacramento — California State Parks announced on October 16 that free collection events for expired marine flares will be held across California this month. The events are offered in partnership with the California State Parks and California Coastal Commission Boating Clean and Green Program and the California Product Stewardship Council, and are hosted by Alameda County, West Contra Costa County, Marin County, San Mateo County, Santa Cruz County, Orange County, Ventura County and the Port of San Diego. Alongside disposal, the events introduce safer, reusable alternatives to traditional pyrotechnic distress signals, such as electronic flares.
Three Southern California sites will operate on Saturday, October 24: Orange County at Sunset Aquatic Marina, 2901 Edinger Ave. in Huntington Beach, from 7 a.m. to 1 p.m.; San Diego County at the Shelter Island Boat Ramp, 2210 Shelter Island Drive in San Diego, from 8 a.m. to noon; and Ventura County at the Channel Islands Harbor parking lot, 3850 Harbor Blvd. in Oxnard, from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. In Northern California, the West Contra Costa County Household Hazardous Waste Facility at 101 Pittsburg Ave. in Richmond accepts flares October 14 to 24 from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m., and additional sites follow on October 25, including Clipper Yacht Harbor in Sausalito (310 Harbor Drive, 8 a.m. to noon) and the Santa Cruz Harbor Maintenance Yard (425 Brommer St., 11 a.m. to 3 p.m.); the Alameda County and San Mateo County events are by appointment only.
State Parks says the collection events are open only to residents and boaters who live in or berth their boats in the participating regions, with proof of eligibility such as residency, boat registration or a slip fee, and that flares may be dropped off only during event hours. According to the release, California boaters are required to carry U.S. Coast Guard-approved visual distress signals; pyrotechnic flares expire after approximately 42 months and become hazardous waste that can be difficult and costly to dispose of, and recreational boaters in California generate an estimated 174,000 expired flares each year, with no permanent statewide disposal program currently in place. Details are posted on the California State Parks boating pages at dbw.parks.ca.gov/marineflares.
Source: GSM · USA (original Chinese edition)
Photo: 过期船用信号弹回收现场，加州州立公园官方发布照片 / Expired marine flares collected at a take-back event, official California State Parks photo
