Vapes - from bad to worse...

...and the blame is laid on recyclers

A predicted revenue increase of 323 million US Dollars over 4 years is not something to be sniffed at. No wonder vape retailers are all too eager to shift the blame for disposable vapes to recyclers, now that government has banned them.

As a product, vapes were originally intended to help adults stop smoking. A secondary and equally important objective was to reduce air pollution and the effects of secondary smoking to the general public.

Few considered the environmental impacts of producing a product from plastic, adding a battery to it and then filling it with artificial substances. That was someone else’s problem.

The general public was too focussed on this new supposed pleasure, and they fell for the sales pitch that it was a better alternative to smoking. And the vape industry? They were too busy watching their bank accounts fill up and ignoring their legal obligations and responsibility for the product end of life.

Now the vape industry is blaming recyclers for not investing in the collection and processing of vapes?!

The vape waste problem

In terms of waste processing, there are few products worse than vapes. Almost every component is in some way hazardous and difficult to recycle. The chemicals and batteries are hazardous and the sheer volume and types of disposable vapes place a huge burden on processing facilities.

More than that, vapes frequently cause fires in processing facilities and collection vehicles, damaging equipment and infrastructure. The waste sector is hardly rolling in profits like the vape industry, and yet they’re having to take the brunt for the problem it’s creating.

A study from Zero Waste Scotland reveals some concerning statistics:

·         Packaging and materials from vapes account for 1000 tonnes of waste a year in Scotland alone

·         More than 21 million disposable vapes were consumed in 52 weeks (up to April 2023)

·         Emissions associated with single use vapes was more than 4000 tonnes CO2 in 2022

Judging from the growth trend in vape sales, these figures are likely even higher today. With the ban on single use vapes only coming into effect in 2025, how much bigger will the problem get?

There are concerns that leading up to when the ban gets implemented that there will be mass dumping of vapes by retailers who will no longer be able to sell them. Most retailers have shown little interest in fulfilling their legal obligations to provide recycling collection bins, so the likelihood of them disposing of vapes responsibly is unlikely.

Is there a vape waste solution?

Even the outright ban on disposable vapes is not going to ease the burden on recyclers in the short term. Some might say that more responsibility should rest with manufacturers and retailers of vapes.

According to government guidelines vapes are classified as electronic waste (WEEE), yet the vast majority of vape producers have failed to register with EPR. This is no surprise seeing that manufacturers are all too eager to blame recyclers for not making investments to deal with vape waste.

Vapes are one of the most complex products to recycle. There are elements of plastic, glass, rubber, lithium and liquid chemicals. This combination of hazardous and valuable resources is costly to recycle, especially as most disposable vapes are not designed to come apart easily.

Why should the burden of dealing with vape waste rest with local authorities and recycling facilities? Where do manufacturers, retailers and consumers factor in? After all, aren’t they the ones enjoying the benefits of these products? Are people still so ignorant that they don’t connect the dots and see how they’re contributing to a major environmental problem? Or do they simply not care?

The younger generations, so eager to brag about responsible consumerism conveniently blame a lack of information on recycling as the reason they dispose of vapes in rubbish bins. Retailers simply haven’t bothered about recycling collection points. Manufacturers are too busy competing over market share to take any responsibility.

Once again, unless the waste and resource sector use their collective voice to pressure enforcement of EPR and outline a viable recycling solution, indications are that no-one else is going to bother. No-one better than those within the industry understand the challenges and opportunities that come with recycling vapes. The blames already been shifted, it’s time to put the responsibility back in the court of those creating the problem.