The Local Government Association (LGA), which represents councils in England and Wales, is calling for the government to ban the sale and manufacture of disposable vapes by 2024.
An estimated 1.3 million disposable e-cigarettes are thrown away each week in the UK, with many ending up on the floor as litter or disposed of in general waste, where they can later become hazardous as lithium batteries can cause fires in bin lorries.
Councillor David Fothergill said vapes are “inherently unsustainable products” and a ban “will prove more effective than attempts to recycle more vapes”.
The LGA has said it is crucial that a ban comes into effect rapidly, as – with the EU proposing a ban in 2026 and France rolling out a ban in December 2023 – there is a risk that as markets close, disposable vapes will flood into the UK.
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“Single-use vapes blight our streets as litter, are a hazard in our bin lorries, are expensive and difficult to deal with in our recycling centres,” added Fothergill.
Councils are also concerned about the impact vaping is having upon children and young people, thanks to the marketing of vapes with designs and flavours that could appeal to children, in particular those with fruity and bubble gum flavours, and colourful child-friendly packaging.
Strict new measures to regulate the display and marketing of regular vaping products in the same way as tobacco are needed.
Earlier this year, Glastonbury added disposable vapes to its ‘don’t bring’ list.
It called for festival-goers to leave their disposable vapes at home as they “pollute the environment and can be hazardous at waste centres”.
