Please could you provide me with:
– The total number or weight of illegal disposable vapes seized by the council over the past three years, broken down by year.
Mar 2020-Feb 2021=0
Mar 2021-Feb 2022=0
Mar 2022-Feb 2023=3470
– Details of the policy outlining how the council must dispose of the disposable vapes it seizes, and the company and method by which it destroys them.
Trading Standards’ generic procedure for disposal of seized goods is:
1. Details of property disposal shall be recorded on the item’s individual record on the Detained Property Record form. This shall include the circumstances of the disposal e.g. forfeiture and destruction order, returned to owner etc.
2. If the item is destroyed a certificate of destruction or similar document must be obtained and attached to the Detained Property Record form. The environmental impact of any destruction method must be considered.
3. If the item is returned to its owner a receipt must be filled out and attached to the detained property record.
4. In disposing of property, consideration should be given to whether a charitable organisation could make effective use of them. A charitable organisation is, for the purposes of this procedure, an organisation registered under the Charities Act 1993 (a bona fide registered charity) or a non-profit making organisation or a community organisation without a commercial motive approved by a member of the management team or the lead officer.
5. Certain types of property may not be donated to charities unless there are assurances that the organisation routinely repairs and/recycles that type of property before it is supplied to members of the public. This includes:
1. Electrical items
2. Counterfeit goods (unless assurance have been given that will not re-enter the marketplace).
3. Cosmetics
4. Any other item that may, if not examined by a suitable person, to be likely to represent a risk to a further user of the item if it is not repaired or refurbished for example toys
5. Mobile phones
6. Any item that contains or could contain personal data if it cannot be confirmed
7. Items must be removed from the appropriate storage location as soon as practicable after the conclusion of any proceedings/investigation/appeal period and either returned to their owner or disposed of in an appropriate manner.
6. Delay is only warranted if very clear and compelling reasons exist for example the unavailability of the person to whom the property is to be returned or it is not known who it belongs to. In these circumstances it must remain in property storage for 6 years in which time an owner can bring civil proceedings in the magistrate’s court or the Crown Court for the return of their goods (unless a court order for disposal is obtained).
7. It is the responsibility of the sampling officer to make sure that any samples, both formal and informal, are disposed of as soon as practicable possible. Once samples have received a satisfactory sample certificate, they should be disposed of with 28 days (or as soon as practicably possible) and arrangements made within this period for the appropriate method of disposal to take place
8. If disposing items as general waste, wherever possible, property will be damaged sufficiently to prevent reuse and to dissuade anyone for taking the items.
9. All packaging, evidence tags and tamper-proof evidence tags, which identify HOTSWTS must always be removed.
10. Any documentation that contains personal data as identified by the Data Protection Act 2018 and GDPR must be destroyed via confidential waste or any other method that will prevent that information being accessed by a third person.
11. Where possible any official documents, such as birth certificates, bank or credit cards, social security documents, should be returned to any relevant authorities by recorded delivery.
12. The following property should be given special consideration and the disposal method should be agreed with relevant Team/Group Manager:
1. Computers and computer media and mobile phones
2. Explosives and fireworks
3. Knives
4. Alcohol and intoxicating liquor
5. Perishable goods
6. Propane/ butane gas cylinders
7. Cigarettes, tobacco and other products such as e-liquids
8. Animal parts (AH)
9. IP clothing etc.
– The total number or weight of illegal disposable vapes sent to be securely destroyed over the past three years, broken down by year.
Nil
– The total cost to the council of securely destroying the illegal disposable vapes it has seized over the past three years, broken down by year.
Nil