Councils in England and Wales want the British Government to ban the sale of single use vapes by 2024, with the Local Government Association (LGA) saying 1.3m disposable vapes are discarded every single week.
The LGA, which represents councils in England and Wales, said it was crucial a ban was implemented rapidly, and that with the European Union proposing a ban in 2026 and France rolling out a ban in December this year, there was a risk that as markets close, disposable vapes could flood into the UK.
Apart from the threat posed to children and young people’s health, the devices were also a hazard for waste and litter collection and caused fires in bin lorries, the LGA said.
Reuters reports that single use vapes are designed as one unit so batteries cannot be separated from the plastic, making them almost impossible to recycle without going through special treatment.
However, the UK Vaping Industry Association has defended disposable vapes, saying they’ve been on the market for more than a decade, “and provide a low priced accessible product that helps smokers to quit smoking tobacco”, according to John Dunne, the association’s director general.
He said the industry was working hard to minimise its environmental impact and warned a ban could see more black market products coming into the UK.
Reuters article – UK Councils Call for Ban on Disposable Vapes by 2024 (Open access)
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