£200k cameras plan to cut vape-fire risk at tips

WASTE bosses are spending £200,000 on thermal imaging cameras for recycling and rubbish disposal centres over fire threats posed by disposable vapes.

- PAUL BRITTON

They say disposable vapes are responsible for an ‘increasing number of fires at waste management facilities and collection trucks’, with 37 fires reported up to June this year alone.

Lithium batteries inside them explode when crushed, pierced or damaged, causing waste around them to set alight.

It comes as civic leaders in Greater Manchester formerly back calls for a nationwide ban on disposable vapes - and go a step further by suggesting a deposit return scheme should be launched to keep the fire hazards out of household and public waste bins.

The predicted cost of the cameras at 10 separate facilities is £202,522, split between Greater Manchester Combined Authority and contractor SUEZ, which manages Greater Manchester’s waste and resources. The fixed cameras are being installed at transfer loading stations at depots. Staff are able to scan loads before the waste is categorised out for any hot-spots, smouldering or actual fires.