Lords Questions in Parliament
The House of Lords saw questions being asked about vaping, the environmental impact and the possible banning of disposables
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by Dave Cross
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Baroness Taylor of Bolton (Labour) asked His Majesty's Government, “what assessment they have made of the damage to the marine environment caused by the disposal of single use vapes.”
Oddly enough, there is a Smoking Sea in Game of Thrones. It’s not really relevant to this but I thought I’d mention it in passing.
Lord Benyon, The Minister of State for the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs responded: “We have not made an assessment of the environmental impacts of disposable vapes. However, as part of the review of the Waste Electrical and Electronic Equipment Regulations, we will consult on policies aimed at driving up levels of separate collection of electric and electronic waste, including vaping devices, later this year.”
Baroness Bennett of Manor Castle (Green) sounds like she’d be at home with a couple of dragons. Instead of talking about the threat from the Stone Men, she also asked the Government about the steps they are taking to address the “environmental hazard posed by discarded disposable vapes”.
She intimated that a solution to the problem could include a complete ban on them.
Lord Benyon – yes, he does sound like someone who could’ve been fighting in that jousting competition – confirmed that a ban isn’t currently on the cards and spoke about the review of the Waste Electrical and Electronic Equipment Regulations again.
At this point, I’m wondering if Manor Castle is built on a cliff with a big hole where they can ‘make men fly’. Baroness Bennett wasn’t, that would’ve been stupid. Mainly because they aren’t cosplaying Game of Thrones no matter how much it would pep up the Upper House.
Baroness Bennett wondered if the Government has assessed the environmental cost caused by discarded disposable vapes.
Lord Benyon replied: “We are aware that the use of disposable vaping products which contain batteries has increased substantially in recent years and are considering the implications for the environment. As part of the review of the Waste Electrical and Electronic Equipment Regulations, we will consult on policies aimed at driving up levels of separate collection of electric and electronic waste, including vaping devices, later this year. A separate consultation on batteries is also scheduled for later this year and is similarly looking to strengthen the collection of portable batteries, including those contained in vapes.”
That was hardly a battle worthy of an HBO series.
Baroness Taylor, remember her? Fresh from asking about the environmental impact, she asked the Parliamentary Under-Secretary for Health and Social Care if his Department would support a push to ban disposables.
Lord Markham repeated what Lord Benyon had already told Baroness Bennett, there is no plan to ban.
Honestly, not a great season. Maybe if one of them could sit in a chair made of swords for the next time? And if swords are hard to come by, they could make one out of secateurs?
Dave Cross
Journalist at POTVDave is a freelance writer; with articles on music, motorbikes, football, pop-science, vaping and tobacco harm reduction in Sounds, Melody Maker, UBG, AWoL, Bike, When Saturday Comes, Vape News Magazine, and syndicated across the Johnston Press group. He was published in an anthology of “Greatest Football Writing”, but still believes this was a mistake. Dave contributes sketches to comedy shows and used to co-host a radio sketch show. He’s worked with numerous start-ups to develop content for their websites.
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