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.”
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.
“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
Police issue urgent warning following a rise in scam calls across Greater Manchester
Emily Sergeant
The public is being urged to ‘remain vigilant’ following a rise of scam calls across Greater Manchester.
Greater Manchester Police (GMP) says it has been made aware that scammers, who are impersonating police officers, are contacting people trying to convince them to hand over personal and sensitive information linked to their ownership of cryptocurrency.
From the numerous reports that GMP has received, one common method the offenders appear to be using is claiming that a suspect has been arrested and was found to be in possession of the victim’s personal documents – such as their passport, driving licence, or banking details.
On several occasions, fraudsters asked victims about their cryptocurrency accounts – specifically looking for their IDs, recovery phrases, and security codes.
GMP is urging the public to know that the police would never ask you to share this information or move your accounts.
The police have issued an urgent warning following a rise in scam calls across Greater Manchester / Credit: Rawpixel | Nordwood Themes (via Unsplash)
“These calls can appear convincing and are being made through spoofed GMP phone numbers but we are urging the public to remain vigilant, especially when providing sensitive information via phone calls,’ GMP said in a statement this week.
GMP is asking that the public ‘be wary’ of unsolicited calls, emails or messages relating to cryptocurrency investments or accounts, and that they never share passwords, recovery phrases, or security codes with anyone, as well as refusing to transfer any money or cryptocurrency to accounts suggested by a caller.
DS Reed, from GMP’s Cyber Crime Team, said these calls are ‘incredibly sophisticated’, and those responsible are targeting ‘vulnerable communities’
“We take offences of this nature incredibly seriously, and our Cyber Crime Team are working around the clock to understand how these offences have occurred, and how to prevent it from continuing,” DS Reed concluded.
Featured Image – Priscilla Du Preez (via Unsplash)
Boroughs
No trams to run on THREE major Greater Manchester lines for two weeks this month
Emily Sergeant
Widespread disruption is expected, as no trams will be running on three major Greater Manchester lines for two full weeks.
As the next phase of the ongoing £150m investment into Greater Manchester’s tram network gets under way later this month, it has been announced that essential improvement work is set to be be carried out on three major Metrolink lines across the region in a bid to make the network ‘safer’ and ‘more resilient and reliable’ for years to come.
From Monday 19 October to Sunday 1 November, tram improvement works will take place at Deansgate-Castlefield, and Trafford Bar.
Additional works will also take place in the city centre during this time, allowing Transport for Greater Manchester (TfGM) to keep closures of the tram network to a minimum.
During the dates above, no trams will run on the Altrincham, Trafford Centre, and Eccles lines.
No trams will be running on three major Greater Manchester line for two weeks this month / Credit: TfGM
A number of shuttle bus services will the running over the course of the two-week closure – with services arriving every 10 or 15 minutes, depending which line it’s on, and you can find a full list of these here.
Services operating on the East Didsbury and Manchester Airport lines will terminate at Firswood, and from Firswood, passengers will then need to board a replacement bus service to continue their journey into the city centre.
Services operating on the Rochdale line will terminate at Exchange Square, it has also been announced.
Services will resume on these lines from start of service on Monday 2 November.
However there will be some minor route changes through the city centre in place from Monday 2 to Wednesday 4 November, so it’s important to check your journey before you travel.
Emily Sergeant -
1st August 2023 
