Locals unaware of the dangers of discarding used vapes
Kingston council has warned about the dangers of the incorrect disposal of items such as vapes, batteries and nitrous oxide cannisters.
The warning came as Veolia, the resource management company, initiated a national campaign to combat the rising number of fires caused by the unsafe dumping of electrical items.
According to Veolia’s data, there is on average one preventable fire every day from residents putting dangerous items in bins.
Pascal Hauret, the municipal managing director of Veolia, said: “This campaign is necessary to educate residents on how to ensure their waste is safe, and we ask everyone to make these simple changes that will greatly decrease the chance of fires in collection vehicles and sorting facilities.”
However, many of those who vape were unaware of how to correctly throw away their vapes, and of the dangers posed by incorrect disposal.
Vapes contain lithium-ion batteries that spark fires if handled incorrectly, meaning that it is not safe to throw them away in kerbside bins, household bins or household recycling bins.
Iman Adan, a student at Kingston University who has been vaping for two years, said that she and her friends were unaware of the risks, and threw vapes “in the bin, or wherever really”.
Retailers that sell vapes often have battery bins or electrical recycling bins available for customers, including Co-op, Sainsburys and specialist vape shops.
Kingston residents can also dispose of vapes at Villiers Road household and recycling centre.
Despite these safe disposal options being available to residents, there is a lack of awareness on this issue, and many believe that there needs to be an effort to remedy this.
“Because of the danger caused, maybe there should be a warning on the boxes, or maybe shopkeepers should tell you when you buy it to make sure you know the risks,” Adan said.
Londis in Kingston provides a bin for one-time use vapes and batteries. Shopkeeper Bhavin Patel said it should be getting more use.
“Some young people just throw it in the bin. They don’t care,” he said. “They [the government] need to put a notice out there to make sure people have the right instructions.”
