The ESA has written to the Home Secretary urging Government to join the EU in banning the retail sale of medium-sized pressurised nitrous oxide cylinders.
In recent years, the UK has seen a surge in the misuse of larger “intermediate-sized” nitrous oxide (N2O) cylinders and significant growth in the number of them discarded carelessly with other waste and recycling.
Hidden in the nation’s waste, these pressurised cylinders can explode if damaged or exposed to heat. This puts lives at risk and threatens the critical infrastructure we all rely on every day. Over the last few years, recreational users seem to have shifted from smaller single-use nitrous oxide cartridges to much more dangerous “intermediate-sized” pressurised cylinders, which have no legitimate consumer use, yet are readily accessed online, sometimes brazenly bearing imagery associated with recreational drug use.
It is in Energy-from-Waste (EfW) plants that the impact of these hidden intermediate sized nitrous oxide cylinders is felt most acutely. The UK has a fleet of around 60 such plants, together treating hundreds of thousands of tonnes of Britain’s rubbish each week (mostly on behalf of local authorities), by combusting it as a fuel to generate energy.
Data provided by EfW operators shows that individual EfW plants can now suffer up to six significant nitrous oxide cylinder explosions every day. As well as placing workers at risk of injury, there have been cases of the resulting damage exceeding £2 million from a single incident.
The ESA, alongside the Chartered Institution of Wastes Management (CIWM); National Association of Waste Disposal Officers (NAWDO), and the Association of Directors of Environment, Economy, Planning & Transport (ADEPT), is calling on Government to follow the lead of the European Union (EU) by introducing a ban on the sale of intermediate size nitrous oxide cylinders on the UK retail market.
The letter to the Home Secretary, Shabana Mahmood, urges government to:
- launch an immediate consultation on restricting the general sale and supply of intermediate-sized nitrous oxide cylinders with a clear presumption in favour of a ban;
- amend Schedule 5 of the Misuse of Drugs Regulations 2001 so that cylinder capacity forms part of the definition of legitimate use;
- establish a timetable for the restriction to take effect as soon as possible relative to the corresponding EU measure being introduced next year; and
- intensify enforcement against retailers and importers supplying these products without evidence of a legitimate purpose.
Chair of the ESA and Executive Vice President of SUEZ UK, John Scanlon, said: “Pressurised nitrous oxide cylinders hidden in the nation’s waste are ticking time bombs that are damaging infrastructure, disrupting essential services and creating potentially hazardous working conditions for frontline workers. The supply needs to be cut off at source.
We’ve actually seen a rise in larger nitrous oxide cylinders hidden in the nation’s waste since Nitrous Oxide was classified as a Class C drug in 2023. These items have no legitimate use yet continue to be sold to retail customers online with no meaningful checks that they will not be abused.
Our industry is doing its part to engineer solutions and reduce the risk, and we have invested tens of millions of pounds to protect our people over the last few years, but the sheer numbers of nitrous oxide cylinders arriving each day mean that some inevitably get through and wreak havoc against vital infrastructure. The only sensible solution is to address the root of the problem by urgently banning retail sales of these cylinders in the UK, as they have done in the EU.”
Dan Cooke, Director of Policy, Communications and External Affairs at CIWM, said: “The evidence of the damage to infrastructure and the risk to recycling and waste professionals’ safety from nitrous oxide cylinders in the waste stream is clear, as is the case for Government to act. There’s a simple solution: Ban them for all but legitimate and specialist use. Protect our workers and our vital infrastructure.”
Eleanor Hayward, Chair of NAWDO and Senior Strategy and Policy Manager at North London Waste Authority said: “Waste and recycling facilities across the country are seeing the consequences of large nitrous oxide cylinders entering the waste stream. When these pressurised containers are crushed or compacted, they can explode, putting the safety of our colleagues and the public at risk. NAWDO is pleased to support the ESA’s call for Government to restrict the retail sale of intermediate-sized cylinders and to work with local authorities, waste operators and enforcement bodies to design a workable, proportionate approach.”
Sam Horne, Waste Group Vice Chair for Adept, said: ‘Whilst the Government’s ban on possession of nitrous oxide in 2023 was a positive step forward, the waste sector is still having to deal with a significant volume of nitrous oxide containers, mostly the larger catering sized ones, arising in the waste system. These pressurised cannisters pose a significant risk of explosion causing damage to facilities, putting workers at risk of injury and leading to increased costs of managing the resulting impacts. ADEPT supports the ESA’s call on Government for a ban on the sale of retail sales of these cannisters to protect those working in the waste sector and reduce the financial implications on local authorities and waste processors.”
You can read a copy of our open letter to the home office, and find out more about the issue in the ESA’s policy brief, here
