Fire extinguishers are robust devices and can have a service life of 20 to 25 years if properly maintained.
Nevertheless, they will eventually reach the end of their service life. Therefore, proper fire extinguisher disposal is also of great importance to minimize environmental impact and ensure that potentially hazardous substances are disposed of properly.
The right way to dispose of fire extinguishers
Fire extinguishers must not be disposed of with household waste or amongst building rubble. Instead, old fire extinguishers must be treated as hazardous waste. Some of them contain environmentally harmful extinguishing agents, e.g. foam or water with additives. In addition, special care must be taken with permanent pressure extinguishers, as they can become an acute danger at the end of their service life if the material becomes tired.
Fire extinguishers can be disposed of at local recycling centers. Alternatively, specialist fire protection companies can help you dispose of old fire extinguishers.
Disposal of fire extinguishers by specialist companies
Disposing of fire extinguishers via specialist companies enables the individual components of the extinguisher to be recycled in an environmentally friendly manner. For example, the housing, the riser pipe (both metal) or the plastic parts can be recycled.
How much does it cost to dispose of old fire extinguishers at a specialist company?
As a rule, specialist fire protection companies dispose of the fire extinguishers they have put into circulation and serviced in accordance with the Recycling Management Act for a fee.
Good to know: CWS Fire Safety GmbH will dispose of fire extinguishers for you throughout Germany for a fee. This ensures that the old fire extinguishers can be recycled as completely as possible.
100% recycling of old extinguishers
Powder extinguishers can even be almost completely recycled. In addition to the fire extinguisher housing, the hose and other parts, the extinguishing powder can also be recycled. After professional processing, the extinguishing powder can be reused as an environmentally friendly fertilizer.
Good to know: Extinguishing powder consists of a mixture of monoammonium phosphate and ammonium sulphate. Both substances form the basis for many fertilizers, as they promote plant growth.
Your partner for the comprehensive disposal of old fire extinguishers
We - CWS Fire Safety - strive for the best possible circular economy. It goes without saying that we take care of the disposal of our customers' old fire extinguishers. It is important to us that as much as possible of the fire extinguisher can be reused. To this end, we have been working for many years with a specialist disposal company that specializes in the sustainable recycling of fire extinguishers.
As a result, the recycling of old fire extinguishers and the processing of extinguishing powder into fertilizer is part of our everyday practice.
Figures at a glance
Over the past two years, we have been able to professionally dispose of and recycle thousands of fire extinguishers. In addition, more than 140 tons of fertilizer have already been produced from disposed powder fire extinguishers.
