Horsham Rural City Council is reminding residents that out-of-date flares should be disposed of at Horsham Police Station and not in rubbish bins.
A major incident at Dooen Landfill was this week avoided when a flare ignited and was extinguished by fast-acting staff.
"The operator was compacting rubbish when he noticed orange smoke and took immediate action to avoid a fire," Infrastructure Director John Martin said.
"The flare was removed from the cell and the area was examined to establish if there were anymore. Luckily, this time there weren't."
Many people think flares can be placed into their general garbage collection, but expired flares are highly flammable and must be taken to a police station.
"Flares are essential emergency signalling equipment. The problem is flares expire after three years. After this time, there is no guarantee they will fire when needed and they must be replaced," Mr Martin said.
"Our message is that flares are classed as explosives, and must never be disposed of in a bin."
