The increasing use of nitrous oxide has led to unexpected problems for cleaning work in several parts of the country. In Gothenburg alone, so far this year, over 3,000 recreational gas tubes have been found thrown around the city, something that causes the municipality large costs.
– It is found everywhere. We have staff who find it in schoolyards, playgrounds, parking lots, says Camilla Ide, unit manager of the City of Gothenburg’s Park and Nature Administration.
Despite demands for a ban and warnings about health risks, the use of nitrous oxide has increased sharply in Sweden. In a survey among high school students in Gothenburg last fall, a quarter stated that they had tested.
High bill for the municipality
The gas can be sold in portions in balloons as a kind of party drug, still legal. And since the empty tubes are thus classified as hazardous waste, each defective length costs the municipality almost SEK 200 to dispose of.
– We have found approximately 3,000 bottles so far this year, paid approximately SEK 600,000. There were costs that we were not at all prepared for and of course money that could of course be spent on something better, says Camilla Ide.