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
24-hour bus services are now running across all Greater Manchester boroughs
Emily Sergeant
24-hour bus services are now running across all boroughs in Greater Manchester.
You may remember that back in March, it was announced that every borough of Greater Manchester was set to get a night bus service in what is hoped to be a ‘boost’ to the night-time economy… and now it’s official, Transport for Greater Manchester (TfGM) has launched those 24-hour buses this month, along with a series of other measures.
Oldham, Stockport, Tameside, and Trafford now join the rest of Greater Manchester in having 24-hour bus services, meaning every part of the region will have a night bus operating Thursday through to Sunday.
It’s expected that these new services will help around 625,400 people working in the night-time economy across Greater Manchester, as well as those out enjoying the region’s nightlife, TfGM has said.
The routes which will run around the clock from Thursday until Sunday are:
50 (Salford – Manchester)
216 (Tameside – Manchester)
263 (Trafford – Manchester)
192 (Stockport – Manchester)
83 (Oldham – Manchester)
All Greater Manchester boroughs now have 24-hour bus services / Credit: TfGM
They launch alongside the most significant service changes to the Bee Network since the completion of bus franchising last year – including other new bus routes, and more frequent services across Greater Manchester.
“We want everyone to be able to enjoy everything Greater Manchester offers, without the worry of how to get there and get home,” commented Greater Manchester Mayor, Bev Craig.
“By growing the Bee Network, we’re making it easier than ever for people to use the bus, day and night.
“Our night buses are already providing a lifeline to some of the hundreds of thousands of people who are growing our night-time economy and working in essential public services.”
“Whether people are heading home from a night at the theatre or starting the early shift at a hospital, they can now get on board the night bus as a safe and affordable way to travel.”
Further improvements will delivered from January 2027, and a full breakdown by borough can be found on the Bee Network website here.
Featured Image – Aleksandr Popov (via Unsplash)
Boroughs
New £60m fund launched to fill potholes across Greater Manchester
Emily Sergeant
A new £60 million Pothole Fund has been created to repair more of the city region’s roads and pavements.
The fund – which has been set up by new Mayor Bev Craig, and is to be spent across every borough in Greater Manchester – is set to be a ‘major boost’ to efforts to tackle the pothole problem, as it will be enough to repair and maintain over a million square metres, or around 125 kilometres, of road across the wider region.
Around 2.5 billion trips are made on Greater Manchester‘s roads every year – not only by motorists, but also by buses, trams, cyclists, and pedestrians. So the fund will be used to help keep the highways network ‘safe and reliable’.
The fund will enable transport teams to repair hotspots where surfaces are in poor condition, as well as resurface roads and pavements to prevent them from deteriorating in the first place.
A new £60m fund has been launched to fill potholes across Greater Manchester / Credit: TfGM
Cold and wet winters, more traffic, and heavier vehicles using the roads are just some of the contributing factors to the pothole problem, which is why the fund is being introduced before autumn and winter properly arrives.
The amount each of the 10 boroughs will receive is based on an agreed funding formula, with the allocations being:
Bolton: £6,552,000
Bury: £4,374,000
Manchester: £8,155,000
Oldham: £5,258,000
Rochdale: £5,243,000
Salford: £5,388,000
Stockport: £6,820,000
Tameside: £4,980,000
Trafford: £4,992,000
Wigan: £8,241,000
The extra cash comes from the region’s transport budget, with leaders agreeing to reallocate funding towards highways maintenance, and it fulfils a commitment Bev made in her Mayoral Manifesto to repair more roads and make sure pavements are safe.
“Keeping our roads and pavements safe and well maintained is essential for a growing city region like Greater Manchester,” explained Mayor Bev Craig.
“That’s why I promised to create this new Pothole Fund that will benefit drivers and everyone who uses our roads to get around. Properly maintaining our roads will save motorists money on costly repairs, and by preventing potholes forming in the first place, councils won’t have to spend as much money on emergency road repairs.
“This issue came up repeatedly on the doorstep during my election campaign so I’m pleased that I can do something about it so quickly, building on the significant work already planned by councils across Greater Manchester.”
Emily Sergeant -
1st August 2023 
