HALO has identified a need around the world – and in Angola specifically – for efficient and permanent disposal of large stocks of unwanted weapons. This is especially important in countries where peace has been established, and the reminders of war detract from that peace.
Currently, workers use shears designed for the scrap metal industry to dispose of weapons. These shears are difficult to transport to the remote regions of the world that need them, and they are also inefficiently designed. To solve this problem, HALO collaborated with a Scottish engineering firm to develop a more efficient pair of cutting shears. These new shears will be powered using a hydraulic feed, rather than by electricity, and have blades designed specifically for WAD.
The Foundation and the U.S. Department of State have given matching grants for the purchase of two pairs of the new mobile weapons cutting shears. This grant has come in time for Angola's countrywide voluntary disarmament campaign in the first half of 2008.