Knife bins to be used for 'laughing gas' disposal

Thames Valley Police said larger industrial sized canisters have started being used in Wycombe

Bins formerly used for members of the public to hand in knives will be repurposed to take canisters of laughing gas.

Insp Harry Gehnich, of Thames Valley Police, told the High Wycombe town committee that one of the bins will be placed in Castlefield ward, with a second location yet to be announced.

The move follows growing calls to address the rising use of nitrous oxide in the Buckinghamshire town.

On Tuesday, Insp Gehnich said: "We have been able to work with some local community groups who are going to be helping us to manage nitrous oxide bins within the High Wycombe area."

Two of the laughing gas bins being introduced in High Wycombe were previously knife bins used in Aylesbury and have been re-branded, the Local Democracy Reporting Service reported.

Larger gas canisters, normally used in the catering industry, have started being found in town, the force told the meeting.

The use of the gas as a recreational drug surged during the pandemic, and it is currently one of the most commonly used substances among 16 to 24-year-olds in the UK.

Councillor Julia Wassall, a member of the Cancel the Canisters group, said she had noticed a reduction in the number of canisters compared with two to three years ago.

She said: "We go around collecting the empty canisters, taking them to a recycling centre or another central point."

Ms Wassall described the canisters as a "hideous eyesore, which is taking up a lot of people's time to collect them up and get them recycled".