Smoke Alarm Disposal

Smoke detectors, heat, and fire alarms class as WEEE (Waste Electrical and Electronic Equipment). They must be disposed of properly by following the WEEE Regulations. To dispose of a smoke alarm from your home you can often return it to an electronics shop or your local household waste recycling centre (HWRC).

Check with your local authority for advice on what to do with an old smoke alarm. There might be specific bins at your nearest HWRC or you could dispose of them in a WEEE container. They must not be disposed of in your household recycling or general waste bin.

Remove the battery first and dispose of it with other battery waste, such as in a battery recycling bin found in many supermarkets.

Businesses should dispose of old smoke and fire alarms with their commercial WEEE waste. Place the smoke alarm in a separate WEEE bin and arrange collection by a licensed waste carrier to ensure it’s recycled and kept away from landfill.

Fire and smoke alarms are made up of several parts to help detect different stimuli, such as smoke or heat. Some of the common components that make up a fire alarm include:

• Americium oxide – less than a microgram, this absorbs smoke ions and detection sets off the alarm.
• Silver – silver plates create the detection chamber.
• Gold – mixed with americium oxide to form a thin layer on one side of the silver plates.
• Battery – often a nine-volt battery, sometimes as a back-up in buildings where the smoke alarm is connected to the mains electricity.
• Plastic housing – normally the case is made from polyvinyl chloride (PVC), which is fire-resistant.
• Alarm horn – gives off a siren of 90 decibels, which is like a motorbike engine.
• Circuit-board – includes capacitors, diodes, and resistors to measure the detection chamber’s electric current.

Dispose of a carbon monoxide detector in the same way as an old smoke alarm, as it’s also classified as WEEE. Either take an old carbon monoxide detector from your home to your local HWRC or return it to an electronics shop that accepts and recycles them.

Businesses should dispose of any old carbon monoxide detectors in a WEEE waste bin with other commercial e-waste. Remove any batteries first and recycle them separately. Then arrange collection by licensed waste carriers to dispose of carbon monoxide detectors safely and sustainably.

Fire alarms and smoke detectors contain certain radioactive material, which means they need to be disposed of separately from general waste and recycling. The radioactive element is removed by a specialist contractor who sends it to a treatment facility that focuses on WEEE recycling.

Fire alarms also contain battery waste – which you can remove and dispose of separately. There are bits of metal waste in the circuit board, while the casing is often plastic, though it will all be recycled together as WEEE waste.

Modern fire alarms and smoke detectors are constructed using a two-step process:

• The first step is the fabrication of Americium oxide into a foil package that can be installed into the alarm system.
• The second stage of the process assembles the housing and individual prefabricated components of the alarm.

Most manufacturing of fire alarms is automated to ensure the health and safety of employees when dealing with radioactive material. Many quality tests and inspections are performed throughout the manufacturing process to ensure the fire alarm works as intended.

If an old smoke alarm is marked for recycling, several components can be saved by specialists. Precious metals including gold and silver are carefully removed and recycled, as well as the plastic housing for the fire alarm. Circuit boards are also recycled, as they contain some precious metals and useful materials such as silicon.

This ensures as much as possible of your old smoke alarm is recycled. It prevents any waste ending up in landfill, where it could add to pollution.

If your business needs fire alarm disposal or recycling, you can drop small numbers of old alarms into recycling centres. The cost for recycling is passed onto the manufacturer of the alarms. Or you can arrange waste collection with Business Waste and our licensed waste carriers will transport your old fire alarms to an appropriate recycling centre for WEEE waste.

For domestic fire alarms, you can recycle them at your local recycling centre for free. Check with your local authority for the best disposal method and costs.

Francis Robbins Upton patented the first electrical fire alarm system in 1890. At the time, his fire alarm design was quite unpopular, and few people used it. Over time though, many recognised the utility and safety that fire alarms offered properties, and they grew in popularity.

Today, fire alarms are found in most buildings – especially those in larger towns and cities that require a rapid response from fire services.