RETIRED Fire Hose WASTE
Reduction Program

Keeping fire hose out of landfills by transforming it into handcrafted American flags and supporting partner organizations.

The Story

Here's something most people don't know:

every fire department in America retires thousands of feet of fire hose every year. That hose—the same hose that's been dragged into burning buildings, charged with water to knock down flames, and wrapped around hydrants on the worst days of people's lives—ends up in landfills. Just like that. History, service, and sacrifice buried under garbage.

We couldn't let that stand.

The Retired Fire Hose Waste Reduction Program gives that retired hose a second life. Departments across the country ship us their decommissioned hose—at no cost to them—and we transform it into handcrafted American flags that honor the very firefighters who carried it. The hose that ran calls beside them becomes artwork that hangs in their stations, their homes, and their communities.

Every hose has a story. Through this program, those stories don't end in a dumpster. They live on.

❋ Beneficiary: Fire departments nationwide + the environment

❋ Location: National — accepting hose from all 50 states

❋ Project Type: Ongoing Environmental & Upcycling Program

❋ Hose Processed: 100,000+ lbs to date

❋ Annual Goal: 25,000+ lbs

❋ Funding Goal: $50,000 — Expand processing capacity

❋ Status: Accepting donations & fire hose year-round

FLAG LOCATIONS ACROSS THE US

The ripple effect

When you support the Retired Fire Hose Waste Reduction Program, you're doing more than keeping materials out of landfills. You're helping us honor first responders with flags made from the very hose they carried into service. You're funding partnerships with organizations like Project Chimps, where retired hose becomes hammocks and enrichment items for sanctuary animals. You're building a national network of departments who believe their history deserves better than the trash.

This isn't just recycling. It's respect.