What is disposal?
What happens to items once they are out of service — sorted, routed, moved safely and documented.
Disposal deals with items after they have been removed from service. Each item is identified and a route is chosen: reuse as spares if known serviceable, return or resale, recycling, scrapping, or specialist treatment.
Materials are separated, moved safely by an authorised carrier and processed, and the record is closed out with certificates and the asset register updated. Poor disposal means unsafe handling, hazard risk and no paper trail.
- Identify. Tag and list the items, check their condition and note their materials.
- Route. Choose reuse as spares, return or resale, recycling, scrapping or specialist treatment.
- Separate. Split the materials, keep hazardous items apart, and label and store them.
- Move. Pack and load safely, use an authorised carrier, and leave the site clear.
- Process. Reuse or recycle, scrap or treat the items, and clear stored data from control equipment.
- Close out. Keep certificates, close the asset register entry and record the cost.
Deals with the removed items: reuse, return, recycling, scrapping or treatment, with records to match.
The earlier step that withdraws the asset from service and makes the circuit and area safe.
Frequently Asked Questions
Q1What is disposal in airfield ground lighting?
The stage that deals with AGL items after they have been removed from service: deciding what happens to each one, separating the materials, moving them safely and passing them to reuse, return, recycling, scrapping or treatment, with the records to show it was done properly.
Q2How is disposal different from decommissioning and recycling?
Decommissioning withdraws the asset from service and makes the circuit and area safe. Disposal then deals with the removed items. Recycling, the next lifecycle entry, is one route within disposal that recovers materials such as copper, steel and aluminium.
Q3Can removed equipment be reused?
Sometimes. An item should return to spares or be redeployed only if it is identified, tested and known to be serviceable and still suitable for the duty. Items that have failed, are at end of life or cannot meet current requirements should not be put back, and the manufacturer's instructions and the aerodrome's procedures decide.
Q4Why are materials separated?
Different materials follow different routes. Metals, cable, electronic equipment, batteries, lamps, older capacitors and oil-filled equipment that may contain PCBs, and any contaminated or treated materials each have their own handling and treatment requirements. Mixing them raises cost and risk and can make a compliant route impossible.
Q5What rules apply to disposal?
The aerodrome's environmental and waste procedures, together with the applicable national and local waste and environmental regulations. Specialist waste is normally handled by authorised carriers and facilities. The responsible organisation confirms which rules apply before items leave the site.
Q6What should be recorded?
What was disposed of and in what quantity, the route chosen, who carried and who received it, the date, and any certificates or consignment notes. The asset register is closed out, stored data and settings are cleared from control equipment, and the final cost is recorded for lifecycle cost reporting.
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