Scotland’s environment correspondent
There are not many times when a single social media post can trigger a snowball effect which leads to a significant change in the law.
But social media influencer Laura Young’s actions did exactly that when she started noticing a litter problem while walking her dog in Dundee.
‘Less waste Laura’ – as she calls herself online – said she was “sick of litter picking” disposable vapes and wanted to campaign against them.
Three years on and her campaign has led to a UK-wide ban now coming into force.
Laura realised her message had struck a chord when a TikTok video she created was viewed 10.5 million times.
It led to a prominent newspaper campaign and then calls from government officials requesting meetings with ministers.
She told Scotland News: “If you look up disposable vapes, (mine) is the first (tweet) that comes up.
“Within five weeks it had made the headlines and of course everyone was showing where these vapes were.”
The year after Laura first raised the issue, the Scottish government commissioned an urgent report into the impact of single use vapes on the environment and on young people.
It revealed that 2.7 million vapes had been littered on Scotland’s streets in a single year – about 10%t of the total consumed.
The report also found that 22% of all under-18s – about 78,000 people – were using vapes.
But it was the environmental impact which concerned Laura the most.
She said: “They begin to fall apart. They get broken, they get damaged and the metal can pop tyres so it’s a really big problem.”
In the same year that Laura first launched her campaign, it emerged that a fire which destroyed a recycling facility in Aberdeen had “most likely” been caused by a discarded vape.
The devices contain lithium-ion batteries which, when damaged, can spontaneously combust.
The blaze took just 10 seconds to take hold and the entire facility has had to be rebuilt.
The Scottish ban was first proposed in February 2024 and was due to be introduced last April.
The UK and Welsh governments then confirmed they would follow suit and the Scottish ban was delayed by two months to bring them all into line.
Retailers have been increasingly providing recycling bins in shops so the devices can be disposed of properly.
But Laura says she’s probably collected thousands of littered vapes over the last few years.
She adds: “It’s was fantastic to know that throughout the campaign we were really building up momentum. We had lots of councils support a ban, we had the Scottish government putting out reports and then, of course, we had the commitment to a ban.
Laura says she’s incredibly proud of what’s been achieved but adds that the campaigning has also raised the issue of other disposable technologies and how damaging that is for the environment.
She’s not sure what campaign she might start next but admits that she’s received a very long list of suggestions from family and friends.
