Millions of vapes are still being binned one year after the Government banned single-use devices, campaigners say. Shops and online retailers can only sell vapes that meet reusable criteria after ministers introduced new rules a year ago today (June 1) to crackdown on their use among young people and reduce environmental harm.
But around 6.3 million vapes and pods were discarded in the last year. Vape makers have developed cheap, new styles that meet the legal requirements yet are sold, priced and used in the same way as the disposables they replaced, so they essentially circumvent the ban.
Councils are calling on the Government to tighten the legal definition of a single-use vape to include these products and warning of gaps in information or access for consumers when it comes to recycling points. Material Focus estimated the number of vapes thrown away each week before the ban was around 8.2 million. Retailers are also required to offer take-back and recycling facilities.
But the Material Focus survey of 1,000 adults who recently bought vapes found 47% were unaware they could be recycled.
The poll also suggested 43% of those who tried to recycle vapes at supermarkets were unable to find a collection point. Biffa, the UK’s largest waste management firm, said more than two million incorrectly discarded vapes were found at four of its sites between June and March this year. This equates to almost 300 vapes every hour and more than 6,500 every day at just those sites.
Meanwhile, fire chiefs said blazes in bin lorries as well as recycling and waste centres continued this year, often caused by lithium-ion batteries in rechargeable vapes that spark when crushed or damaged. The Local Government Association which represents councils in England and Wales, said the cost of contaminated recycling and fires was being paid by residents, not vape producers and retailers.
Now industry leaders are urging ministers to introduce a simple deposit return-style scheme. Customers would pay a small upfront fee, redeemed when they bring devices back. A Censuswide poll of 1,000 vapers found 85% would return their devices if incentives were introduced.
Carla Brian, Biffa’s Director of Public Affairs, said: “Awareness is there, but convenience and motivation are not. A simple incentive that supports the existing take back scheme, could transform behaviour and help keep these hazardous items out of our bins.”
Joanne Henderson, the National Fire Chiefs Council’s smoking and vape lead, warned that every vape thrown in a bin and not recycled correctly had the potential to cause a serious fire. “People want to do the right thing and dispose of these products safely as fire services advise them, but they need clear information and easy-to-access recycling points to do so,” she said.