Posted on: 18 January 2019Members of the public who wish to dispose of objects  which could be perceived as dangerous such as ammunition, flares  or smoke grenades are urged to contact  police and not take them to Devon’s Household Waste Recycling Centres.The warning follows the  evacuation and closure of Exmouth’s Knowle Hill Recycling Centre on Thursday afternoon after a suspicious item that looked like a grenade was found in a metal skip.The police were called who in turn called the Explosive Ordinance Disposal team. They   removed one live and two spent smoke grenades from the site.There have been several similar incidents across Devon, including at Knowle Hill in 2016, where a centre has had to close after a potentially hazardous item or items were  brought in by members of the public.All the closures wasted the valuable time and resources of the police and bomb disposal teams, as well as recycling centre staff and led to the inconvenience of other site users.And each time the closure was avoidable – if the owner of the item had given some thought to how the item could be perceived.Councillor Andrea Davis, Devon County Council’s Cabinet Member for Infrastructure and Waste said:"Some people may consider something that's been sat in their loft or garden shed for years as completely harmless, but it's a question of perception, so we would like to remind people to check and think about what they're planning to take to the recycling centre."Explosives, ammunition, flares and fireworks must not be taken to Devons Household Waste Recycling Centres. If you wish to dispose of ammunition or ordnance, whether potentially live or spent, or an item which could be reasonably be perceived as dangerous or of concern including weapons and firearms  please contact the police in the first instance."Otherwise it causes unnecessary disruption and inconvenience for other site users and, even more seriously, it can also put site staff and other customers at risk of harm."