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From Sunday June 1, single-use vapes will be banned across the whole of the UK to reduce the environmental harm caused by their production and incorrect disposal.
Keep Wales Tidy estimates that over just one year, 360,000 disposable vapes are littered on the ground in Wales alone, while 120,000 are flushed down the toilet.
The move follows a Welsh Government commitment to ‘embed our response to the climate and nature emergency in everything we do’.
Deputy First Minister Huw Irranca-Davies, who has responsibility for climate change, said: “Single-use vapes create litter and plastic pollution; this ban will help stop the serious harm these products cause to our wildlife and environment.
“They should be recycled at a vape shop, or taken to a local authority recycling centre, to be disposed of safely. Vapes should never go in the bin as they are susceptible to catching fire.”
Owen Derbyshire, chief executive of Keep Wales Tidy, welcomed the ban and said: “Nearly half of all clean-ups undertaken by our volunteers last year found these harmful products. They’re a blight on our communities, a danger to wildlife, and near impossible to recycle.”
Sarah Murphy, Wales’ minister for mental health and wellbeing, said: “In addition to the environmental impacts, we know single-use vapes are being used by children and young people and are a factor in the significant increases in youth vaping that we have seen in recent years.
“The single-use vape ban being introduced will help us to protect children and young people from vape products, so that they never start vaping and avoid the harms caused by nicotine addiction.”
Businesses which sell single-use vapes must offer a take-back recycling service for customers to bring back their used vapes, pods or batteries, and dispose of any leftover single-use vapes correctly.
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