Wiltshire Calls for Ban on Disposable E-Cigarettes

  Due to the many components in disposable e-cigarettes that require manual disassembly for recycling, they are extremely difficult to recycle. Therefore, Wiltshire in the UK is calling for a ban on disposable e-cigarettes.

According to a report by Wiltshire Times on December 5, the river conservation organization "Kennet River Action" (ARK) collected 424 pieces of trash from the Kennet River. Among this trash, the most common items were disposable e-cigarette products.

In a small stretch of the Kennet River in Marlborough, the conservation organization cleaned up 20 e-cigarettes in just one morning. Senior project manager Anna Forbes stated, "Our volunteers often find discarded e-cigarettes at the bottom of the river, especially in public areas, and this phenomenon has significantly increased." She pointed out, "Disposable e-cigarettes exacerbate the plastic pollution crisis in our rivers, and they also contain heavy metals and toxic chemicals."
 

 Image source: wiltshiretimes

The Kennet River is one of only 260 chalk rivers in the world and is home to many endangered species, such as the European eel. Although most rivers are designated as Sites of Special Scientific Interest (SSSI), volunteers are concerned that sewage and plastic pollution may threaten the river's inhabitants.

Nationwide, the number of discarded disposable e-cigarettes in the UK has surged from 1.3 million per week to nearly 5 million, with the usage among children and young people showing the most alarming increase. One reason for this is the lack of awareness about e-cigarette recycling. However, because disposable e-cigarettes contain many components and require manual disassembly for recycling, they are also extremely difficult to recycle.

Now, Kennet River Action is calling for a ban on disposable e-cigarettes to protect the health of young people and our rivers. Anna added, "The plastic casing of e-cigarettes will pollute our rivers for many years, eventually breaking down into microplastics, posing another threat to water quality and aquatic wildlife health." The government consultation on banning disposable e-cigarettes will close on Wednesday, December 6, and ARK urges local residents to voice their opinions to protect their rivers.