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A major scheme to recycle single-use vapes is to be launched this month, with consumers given free vape sticks in exchange for returning used products.
Under the plans, to be initially rolled out in London, Birmingham and Manchester at the end of May, consumers will be able to send used vapes off to a recycling center through Royal Mail at no cost.
E-cigarette users will also be able to return their products at partaking vape shops in London with the scheme expected to be rolled out nationwide in the next six months.
It comes amid warnings that the explosion in popularity of disposable vapes is causing serious damage to the environment.
Research commissioned by Material Focus, an environmental campaign group, found that 1.3 million single-use vapes are thrown away every week – enough to cover 22 football pitches each year.
Discarded vapes contain enough lithium batteries to maintain 1,200 electric vehicles.
The scheme is being facilitated by FEELM, a company which makes ceramic coils used in many popular vape brands. It is a subsidiary of SMOORE, the world’s largest vaping company.
The recycling process will also be facilitated by Royal Mail and recycling center Waste Experts.
“This is the first industrial whole chain recycling scheme, including manufacturers, brands, delivery companies, waste management companies and retailers and ultimately the consumers,” Ruiqi Wang, a spokesman for SMOORE technology, said.
“The UK is one of the major countries to consume disposable vapes. In the past two years there has been a 340 per cent increase in the number of disposable vapes sold.
“But this comes with challenges for the environment, and so we need to take our responsibility.”
All parts of the disposable vape – lithium battery, plastic casing, coil, and other components – are recyclable, apart from the residual e-liquid which is only disposed in a secure manner.
Users will be incentivised to recycle their products with a reward scheme that will see a free vape sent out for every 10 vapes returned through the scheme.
The vape and e-cigarette industry has been heavily criticised for the environmental damage of its products.
A total of 138 million disposable vapes were sold in the UK last year, with the vast majority of devices unlikely to be recycled.
Conservative MP Dr Caroline Johnson has proposed a complete ban on disposable vapes due to the environmental damage and popularity with under-18s.
Dr Johnson said: “Reusable e-cigarettes and vapes remain an important aid to quitting smoking, but I fear that their colourful, child friendly flavoured, disposable counterparts are luring non-smokers into a life of addiction, which risks creating a new generation of nicotine addicts.”
i revealed in February that ministers considered banning candy-flavoured vapes and slapping disposable vaping devices with a new levy in a bid to crackdown on their use among children.
The moves were eventually rejected by Chancellor, Jeremy Hunt, but are thought to have spooked the industry, which currently faces far less regulation than tobacco products.
According to figures from Action on Smoking and Health, 4.3 million Brits regularly vape, with an estimated 2.4 million of those former smokers while 1.5 million are thought to both smoke and vape.
An NHS survey conducted in 2021 found that 18 per cent of 15-year-olds say they use vapes.
The UK is an outlier internationally in its approach to vaping, with the use encouraged by the NHS as a means to quitting smoking.
A “swap to stop” scheme was launched last month, where smokers are provided with a vape starter kit alongside behavioural support to help them to quit smoking.
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