British Metals Recycling Association calls for music festivals to ban disposable vapes

The British Metals Recycling Association (BMRA) has urged all music festivals to introduce an outright ban on all disposable vapes, citing new figures that show blazes linked to batteries used in the vapes are rising.

Glastonbury, Leeds and Reading were among many headline festivals that banned these items last summer, but the association notes that many other festivals have yet to follow suit this year.

“We welcome more festivals introducing single-use vape bans following Glastonbury’s lead last year,” says Antonia Grey, head of policy and public affairs at BMRA. “But we hope 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,” she adds, saying it will help to protect waste and recycling workers from dangers posed by rogue lithium-ion batteries and assure they get into the correct recycling stream.

“While a government ban on disposable vapes is likely, until then, we all must be mindful of how we dispose of and recycle all vapes and in fact anything containing a lithium-ion battery,” Grey says.

The BMRA has long campaigned for action to be taken on disposable vapes on the grounds of safety and fire risks posed by their lithium-ion batteries.

Earlier this week, new figures revealed how fires caused by batteries in waste have gone up by 71 percent in the U.K. since 2022, with more than 1,200 fires reported in the waste system in the past 12 months compared with 700 two years ago.

The BMRA says estimates indicate that lithium-ion batteries are responsible for nearly 48 percent of U.K. waste fires at a cost of some 150 million pounds sterling ($189.9 million) last year.

The association notes that the Royal Society for the Protection of Animals (RSPCA) recently called for a ban on disposable vapes as have local councils.