Ban on disposable vapes backed
West Lothian Council has unanimously backed a ban on disposable vapes.
A meeting of the full West Lothian Council agreed to write to the Scottish Government expressing the council's support for the introduction on a nationwide ban as soon as possible.
Zero Waste Scotland are currently carrying out an urgent review into the environmental impact of single-use vapes on behalf of the Scottish Government, with the results due for publication soon.
A number of other Scottish councils have already backed a ban, with others set to consider in the near future.
Concern was raised over both the health and environmental impact of disposable vapes, with independent not-for-profit organisation Material Focus estimating that over 1.3 million disposable vapes are littered or binned each week.
Research from charity ASH Scotland highlighted that vaping involves highly-addictive nicotine, which is harmful to health for children and young people in particular, with long-term impacts unknown.
A recent report by Keep Scotland Beautiful also identified significant concerns around littering, with plastic pollution and potential leakage of toxic chemicals from discarded vapes adversely impacting our communities and the local environment.
Executive councillor for the environment and sustainability Tom Conn said: "I welcome the unanimous decision by all of West Lothian's elected members to back a ban on disposable vapes.
"It's clear we need to move away from single use products like this, and disposable vapes in particular contains metals and plastics that should be recycled rather than thrown away.
"Like all items with batteries, it's vital any vapes are disposed of responsibly or they could become a potential fire risk.
"I look forward to the outcome of the Zero Waste Scotland review as a positive step towards the introduction of a Scotland-wide ban on disposable vapes by the Scottish Government."
Vapes can be responsibly disposed of at any of West Lothian's community recycling centres in the Small Domestic Appliance skip, along with other small electrical and electronic items.
For more details including locations and opening hours, please visit Community Recycling Centres.
