Recyclers urge festival ban on disposable vapes

British metal recyclers want the organisers of music festivals to ban all disposable vapes. Last summer, major events held at Glastonbury, Leeds and Reading were among those who banned such items but not all festivals following their lead.

The British Metals Recycling Association (BMRA) has urged all music festivals to introduce an outright ban. As new figures show fires caused by batteries in waste have gone up by 71% in the UK since 2022, BMRA says more needs to be done to protect festival goers.

Call to organisers

Antonia Grey, the association’s head of policy and public affairs welcomed Glastonbury’s lead last year but hoped many more will follow this year. ‘If festivals decide against a ban, which would be disappointing, then we’d strongly urge them to ensure there are suitable recycling facilities for festival goers to dispose of used vapes.

‘Not only will this help to protect waste and recycling workers from any dangers imposed by a rogue lithium-ion battery, it also ensures it gets into the correct recycling stream in order to recover the metal material in it.’

Campaign

The BMRA has long been campaigning for action to be taken on the grounds of safety and fire risk posed by the lithium-ion batteries they contain.

Devices being thrown in household rubbish bins has led to more than 1 200 fires in the waste system in the past 12 months, compared with 700 two years ago.

It is estimated that lithium-ion batteries are responsible for around 48% of all waste fires occurring in the UK, costing the UK economy some £150 million (EUR 175 million) last year.

Poor quality or damaged batteries can spontaneously explode and have been blamed for sparking large fires at recycling centres across the country. Exploding batteries have caused deaths and hundreds of fires globally, largely due to the popularity of electric scooters and bicycles.

The Royal Society for the Protection of Animals in the UK has recently called for a ban on disposable vapes, as have local authorities.