Has the disposable vape ban cleaned up streets in Broughty Ferry, Perth, Kirkcaldy and Arbroath?

Disposable electronic cigarettes were prohibited in the UK in June, but what effect has the prohibition had in our town centres?

Two years ago, The Courier reported on the startling quantity of disposable vapes littering our streets.

Since we published that article, the UK and Scottish governments have prohibited the sale of single-use vapes.

The legislation went into effect in the UK on June 1 of this year. So we decided to return to the same locations to see if the ban had a good influence.

Dundee-based Laura Young, also known on social media as Less Waste Laura, successfully campaigned to ban disposable vapes after discovering over 50 in Dundee’s city centre in an hour.

I followed in my colleague Joanna Bremner’s footsteps, visiting the same areas she did for her story in January 2023.

Four months following the ban, the picture was mostly positive, but one village in Courier Country remained covered with vape paraphernalia.

So, what did I find during my travels?

Broughty Ferry has embraced reusable vaping

On busy Brook Street in Broughty Ferry, I don’t find any evidence of vape litter. In fact, the main shopping streets in The Ferry are refreshingly free of litter in general.

It doesn’t take long to discover where the litter louts hang out, though – many of the local car parks and alleyways are full of rubbish.

Everything from discarded sweet wrappers and crisp packets to drinks cans and plenty of cigarette butts line fences, gutters and hedges.

Interestingly, even when I return to Joanna’s ‘vape hotspot’ at Queen Street Car Park, I have to do a bit of hunting before I find one single vape.

For street sweeper Robert Mcdonald, who is part of the team charged with keeping the streets in The Ferry clean, the difference has been enormous.

“We used to pick up loads and loads of them,” he says, “the ban has definitely made my life a lot easier.”

Robert says that on some days he picked up a bin bag full of disposable vapes — which was even more difficult when they ended up smashed on the pavement or road.

“You were getting about 50 or 60 broken up with pieces everywhere. It’s a lot better now,” he adds.

Perth’s city centre streets seem vape-free

When I retraced Joanna’s steps through the streets of Perth city centre, I was struck again by how litter-free the High Street was.

I didn’t find a single vape, or spot any broken e-cigarette batteries, pods or even packaging on my walk around the Fair City.

Kirkcaldy count dramatically down

In Kirkcaldy, I parked near Victoria Hospital and went to the car lot, where Joanna found numerous disposable vapes on the ground.

During her tour around Kirkcaldy, she discovered more than twenty vapes, half of which were in just one park. I found no abandoned vapes, packaging, or vape parts throughout the hospital.

My next stop was Wilson Avenue Park, where Joanna had discovered a large number of disposable vapes in 2023.

I discovered one vape casing outside the neighbourhood corner shop, as well as two cardboard vape boxes in the park. That does not imply that the region was litter-free.

Any joy that the lack of vapes gave was severely overshadowed by stacks of drink cans, bottles, takeaway containers, and sweet and crisp wrappers everywhere.

Has Arbroath cleaned up its vape disposal act?

At first sight, I had the idea that things had improved in Arbroath as well.

However, the more I explored the alleys of the Angus beach town, the more I discovered.

Instead of full disposable vape units, I discovered a plethora of vape paraphernalia, including damaged casings and batteries. The largest single haul was discovered outside a vape shop, one of several in town.

But I also discovered casings, batteries, and heating elements near Arbroath Abbey, the town’s primary tourist attraction. There was also a lot of damaged vape paraphernalia, particularly batteries, on the roadside, kerbs, and gutters.

Drivers are particularly concerned about vapes on the road, which have been known to puncture automobile tires.

An Angus Council official stated, “Early findings suggest that a reduction in disposable vape-related trash varies across the county, with some places seeing great improvement and others seeing no change.

“We are collating data on this issue through our litter monitoring and should have more meaningful information towards the end of this year.”

The vape-ban results are in

As the graphic below shows, I discovered far less vape-related litter on the streets I visited in Courier Country than Joanna did in January 2023.

Of course, these results are only for the locations Joanna and I visited. How about your area? Have you noticed a decrease in litter as a result of vaping, or do you believe the situation remains the same in your neighbourhood?

We would love to hear your thoughts in the comments section below.

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