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The National Fire Chiefs Council (NFCC) has welcomed new legislation to ban single-use vapes from next year.
Under the government’s plans, it will be illegal to sell single-use vapes in England from 1 June 2025.
Single-use vapes, as their name suggests, are not rechargeable or refillable, meaning they are typically thrown away after use, often as general waste in rubbish bins. But these devices still contain lithium-ion batteries, which can present a fire risk after they are discarded, not to mention the permanent loss of precious materials.
Even if single-use vapes are sent for recycling, they usually have to be disassembled by hand – a slow and difficult process which will struggle to keep up with the pace of vape production.
According to independent not-for-profit organisation, Materials Focus, a staggering five million single-use vapes are either littered or thrown away in general waste every week in the UK. That means a collossal 150 million stand to be discarded between now and the ban coming into force.
Circular Economy Minister, Mary Creagh, has laid the legislation in Parliament, but it is still subject to parliamentary approval.
A ‘very welcome’ step
National Fire Chiefs Council (NFCC) Waste Fires Lead, Rob Barber, said, “Today’s announcement is very welcome. Millions of single-use vapes are binned in household rubbish each year, and not only are they bad for the environment, they pose a fire risk in the waste disposal industry.
“We know that battery fires in bin lorries and at waste sites are at an all-time high, with research by Material Focus showing there were over 1,200 in 2023. Vapes contain lithium-ion batteries, and these can cause fires when crushed or damaged that can be explosive, spread rapidly, reignite, and which can produce toxic gasses posing a risk to firefighters and people working in the waste industry. The ban on single-use vapes will help to reduce the number of potential ignition sources that enter the waste industry, leading to fewer waste fires.
“A crucial next step would be the introduction of robust product safety standards for the rechargeable vape industry so that we don’t see people trying to fill the void left by single-use vapes by turning to cheap unregulated products from the global marketplace.”
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