Boroughs

Greater Manchester councillors back calls to ban disposable vapes over ‘environmental impact’

GMCA is calling on the Government to take action before it's too late.

Emily Sergeant Emily Sergeant - 1st August 2023

Councillors in Greater Manchester are among those backing calls to ban disposable vapes over growing environmental concerns.

After the Local Government Association (LGA) recently launched an appeal to place a UK-wide ban on the sale of disposable vapes due to the fire risk the devices cause when they enter the waste stream, Greater Manchester Combined Authority (GMCA) and the region’s Waste and Recycling Committee has now thrown its support behind the campaign and is calling on the Government to take action before it’s too late.

Ongoing calls for the UK Government to introduce e-cigarette sales restrictions comes ahead of a disposable vape taking effect in France this December 2023, and also just as the EU is proposing a ban in 2026.

The LGA has said that it is crucial for England and Wales to follow in the footsteps of our European neighbours to “avoid a flood of vapes coming into the country”.

Greater Manchester‘s support is expected to be significant, as the region is the largest joint waste disposal authority in the country, and is known to handle a whopping 1.1 million tonnes of municipal waste each year.

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Greater Manchester councillors back calls to ban disposable vapes / Credit: Sarah Johnson (via Pixabay)

Councillor Alan Quinn, who is the Chair of GMCA’s Waste and Recycling Committee, has written to Environment Secretary Therese Coffey to express his support for the ban.

“Whilst there may be health benefits associated with vapes, the increase in uptake and use is having a major impact on waste management operations from irresponsibly discarded vapes,” Cllr Quinn said in is letter.

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“These vapes are a hazard for collection crews, waste management facilities, and operatives due to the lithium batteries inside causing fires when pierced, damaged, or crushed.

“An increasing number of fires in waste management facilities and collection trucks are caused by disposable vapes and other items containing lithium batteries within the waste. We had 37 fire related incidents to end of June alone due to Lithium batteries and we’ve just agreed to spend £100,000 on thermal cameras to monitor for fires in our facilities.”

Two jailed for violent robbery of £45,000-worth of vapes
There are growing environmental and fire concerns over disposable vapes / Credit: Unplash

Cllr Quinn and the region’s Waste and Recycling Committee has also proposed that the Government go “one step further” and introduce a deposit return scheme for disposable vapes too – which would essentially see users receive credit in return for their used vapes, so that the lithium contained within them can “captured and recycled”.

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“Aside from the environmental impact of waste related fires, such incidents also cause significant disruption to waste services,” Cllr Quinn continued.

“There’s also knock-on impacts for residents if collection rounds are not completed.

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“The council taxpayers of Greater Manchester shouldn’t be left to pick up the bill for the dumping of these vapes”.

Featured Image – ELFBAR

Boroughs

This Manchester suburb has just been named one of the UK’s ‘happiest’ places to live in 2024

Thomas Melia Thomas Melia Didsbury named one of the best places to live in the UK

An annual poll has named the Manchester suburb of Didsbury spot among 70 locations said to be the ‘happiest’ places to live in the UK.

Greater Manchester has got lots to say for itself, especially with its diverse and unique cultural landscapes, as well as various vibrant communities, so it comes as no surprise that one of our beautiful suburbs has been voted in a list of the UK’s happiest places to live for this year.

The survey included submissions from 5,000 people and there’s a lot of love being shown to the neighbouring areas of Yorkshire like Doncaster, Bingley, and Harrogate – the lattermost placed in second in the entire country.

But, ranking 62nd out of a possible 70 places, the distinct and vibrant area of Didsbury has been noticed by Furniturebox as one of the ‘happiest’ places to live in the UK.

Credit: The Manc Group

The results took into consideration good state schools, affordable housing, as well as accessibility to pubs, bars, restaurants, independent shops, retailers and more.

With multiple parks, walking destinations, and top-notch travel links with Bee Network trams and buses easily taking you back into the city centre and out to other boroughs, East, West and Didsbury Village all remain some of the most sought-after areas in the region.

There’s a whole host of indie retailers to enjoy, especially on the likes of the main high street and Burton Road, which effectively serves as its own cultural district, home to vintage clothing shops like Steranko, tailored styling opticians Fox Brothers and much more.

Burton Rd also boasts countless fantastic food and drink spots like The Great Kathmandu, SANTÉ, Volta and Proove Pizza, just to name a few; we’ve spent plenty of time just on this stretch of Didsbury alone.

If you’ve spent even a little time in Dids, you’ll know there’s plenty going on and it’s certainly one our happiest places in all of Greater Manchester and therefore the UK.

You can also enjoy the famous ‘Didsbury Dozen’ right on your doorstep.

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Elsewhere, and somewhat unsurprisingly, Shakespeare’s ever-romanticised hometown of Stratford-Upon-Avon once again reigned supreme at the top of this list.

That being said, it’s refreshing to see that these locations weren’t entirely related to wealth and similar factors, the survey took affordability into careful consideration.

Cheshire was destined for success with its cracking views and grand properties, as the North West county made waves for the region managing to place in fifth position, holding up against Falmouth in Cornwall which placed in sixth.

Although not nabbing that all-important top spot, Didsbury is carrying the flag for 0161 and showing what all know to be true: Northerners do it best.

For all the latest news, events and goings on in Greater Manchester, subscribe to The Manc newsletter HERE.

Featured Images – The Manc Group

Boroughs

‘Shocking’ images taken with AI camera of drivers using mobiles and not wearing seatbelts released

Emily Sergeant Emily Sergeant

Thousands of people in Greater Manchester have been caught using mobile phones while driving or not wearing their seat belts.

Images captured by the state-of-the-art ‘Heads Up’ camera system – which uses a combination of artificial intelligence (AI) and human reviewers – as part of a trial in Greater Manchester, show drivers holding mobile phones in front of their face, to their ear while behind the wheel, and sometimes with passengers next to them.  

According to Transport for Greater Manchester (TfGM), in several cases, the cameras also found drivers and passengers, both passengers and children, not being securely fastened in their seats or not wearing seat belts at all.

The trial aims to detect drivers who are potentially breaking the law and putting themselves, their passengers, and other road users, at risk.  

‘Shocking’ images taken with an AI camera of drivers using mobiles and not wearing seatbelts have been released / Credit: TfGM

AI is used as the first filter in a bid to ensure privacy for “the vast majority of law-abiding motorists” while also checking hundreds of thousands of vehicles over an intermittent period, TfGM explained – something which would likely take a human reviewer several months to complete.

Images containing “evidence of an offence” then go through a two-stage human check to confirm that an offence has taken place.

Any offences detected as part of the trial were then passed on to Greater Manchester Police (GMP) to consider for further action, however if no offence was committed, the image was immediately deleted by the software.

The trial – which was carried out by AECOM and Acusensus, on behalf of Safer Roads Greater Manchester – was held across the region throughout September and October to “gather data” and “understand the scale of the issue” to inform future education campaigns and enforcement.

It comes after it was revealed that nearly 10,000 people who live in, work in, or visit Greater Manchester have been killed or seriously injured on our roads over the last decade.

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During the deployment, the ‘Heads Up’ system recorded 812 drivers distracted by using mobile phones behind the wheel, and 2,393 incidents of seat belt non-compliance by drivers or passengers. 

As it stands, no offenders have yet been prosecuted from this trial, TfGM confirmed.

Featured Image – TfGM

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