Shetland Coastguards fear someone may end up fatally injured as a result of reckless dumping of distress flares and other pyrotechnics.
Refuse collectors are being forced to put their lives at risk when emptying skips containing the potentially explosive items.
Flares are an essential part of the equipment on leisure and commercial boats within the seafaring community.
But John Webster, sector manager for Shetland Coastguard says the now regular occurrence of irresponsible dumping of flares that are past their expiry date or unwanted was an accident waiting to happen.
He said: “This is now becoming a regular occurrence in Shetland and is one that causing us great concern within the coastguard that people can be so irresponsible and throw these pyrotechnics into community skips.
“To us it is only a matter of time before either somebody gets killed or is seriously maimed because of the stupidity that goes on week after week within Shetland.”
In autumn last year a flare went off when handled at the Lerwick waste management centre, at Rova Head, only narrowly missing an employee.
Mr Webster encouraged anybody who comes across washed up or damaged flares to contact their nearest coastguard station to arrange a collection.
Expired flares should be taken to coastguard who will arrange for safe storage until a bomb disposal team destroys the flares in a controlled explosion.
