Sandwell councillors will be asked to get behind call for disposable barbecue ban following series of wildfires
Councillors will be asked to get behind a call for a ban on disposable barbecues following a series of wildfires last year.
A motion is expected to be tabled at a Sandwell Council meeting next week calling on council leader Kerrie Carmichael to write to the Minister of State for Crime, Policing and Fire Chris Philp to put pressure on the government to ban single-use barbecues.
It also calls for a public awareness campaign on the risks and dangers behind them and a campaign to local retailers encouraging them to take them off the shelves.
It comes after a series of fires last year, including a wildfire on Lickey Hills last July which forced more than a dozen people to be evacuated from their homes.
Hereford & Worcester Fire and Rescue Service later announced that it was caused by a disposable barbecue which ignited extremely dry ground.
The motion, which has been proposed by Councillor Laura Rollins and seconded by Councillor Charn Singh Padda, says: “This council believes that the government should take action on banning the sale and use of disposable barbecues to prevent further devastating grass fires and habitat destruction.
"Last summer, we saw a number of fire incidents across the country including at Swan Pool and Sheepwash amongst others, as well as the devastating fire at neighbouring Lickey Hills Country Park seeing the destruction of five hectares of valuable heathland.
"We acknowledge the measures that the government has put in place around user responsibility and packaging instructions, however, firmly believe that this does not go far enough.
"The disposal of these barbecues remains a challenge for our staff, who encounter their remnants on a regular basis, and while we acknowledge that local authorities can impose restrictions through public space protection orders, effectively monitoring and enforcing this across our extensive parkland and green spaces would be nearly impossible.
"We appreciate that a number of retailers have voluntarily chosen to cease selling disposable barbecues, including independent retailers close to our parks, however these items are still widely available
"In addition, we are fully committed to reducing waste and in particular, single use items wherever possible and it is imperative that we tackle this issue collectively.
"This council calls on the leader of the council to write to the minister of state for crime, policing and fire to call for the ban on disposable single-use barbecues.
"In addition, to commence a public awareness campaign on the risks and dangers of disposable barbecues and a campaign to local retailers to cease the sale of disposable barbecues.”
The meeting of the full council will take place next Tuesday at 6pm.
