A third of regular vape users are still dangerously disposing of their discarded vapes, months after a ban designed to reduce pollution and reduce battery fires.
An exclusive poll for The Grocer conducted by Find Out Now with 1,022 regular vapers in Great Britain found that 23% throw used vapes in the bin and 12% incorrectly dispose of them with their regular home recycling.
Only 30% of regular vape users are correctly disposing of their vapes through retailer takeback schemes (8%) or specialist battery and electronics recycling facilities (22%).
Biffa has warned that incorrectly discarded vapes are contributing to a “growing epidemic” of battery fires in bin lorries and at waste management facilities, which costs the waste industry £1bn a year.
Younger consumers are the worst culprits for incorrect vape disposal. Two in five (40.9%) of those aged 18 to 29 throw used vapes in the bin compared with 12.4% of vapers aged 65 to 74.
Vapers were resounding in their call for more information about safe disposal. Only one in five said there was enough information about how to recycle vapes.
Daniel Barrett, Biffa’s head of sales for reactive services, said: “The Grocer survey supports our own data, which shows the number of incorrectly discarded vapes is on the rise, contributing to a growing epidemic of lithium battery-related fires in bin lorries and at waste management facilities that costs the waste industry £1bn a year.
“In the UK, there are four to five fires in refuse collection vehicles every day, and at Biffa’s own material recovery facilities, there were 60 battery-related fires in June, 65 in July and 62 in August.
“We believe many of these waste fires are caused by vapes that have been disposed of incorrectly.
“To help prevent fires, empty vapes should not be put in general waste or recycling bins. Instead look for special vape bins found in many shops, supermarkets and household waste recycling centres. Alternatively, a few councils offer separate kerbside collections.
“It’s really important that retailers understand their post ban obligations to avoid the potential risk of costly enforcement action.
“If you sell vapes you must offer a ‘take back’ service. This means you must accept vapes and vape parts, such as used pods, coils or batteries, that customers return for recycling and arrange safe storage and collection by a licensed waste carrier. This includes any single-use vapes returned by customers after the ban began on 1 June.”
Barrett said Biffa’s own Vape Takeback scheme for retailers had sent almost 600,000 disposable vapes, weighing around 17 tonnes, for safe recycling, but acknowledged not all retailers were fully compliant.
“Ultimately, to make it easier for people to recycle their vapes and other small electricals, we are urging stakeholders to work with the waste sector to work out how to ensure there is easy and consistent access to safe disposal and greater awareness of the dangers associated with improper disposal.”
Disposable ban takes hold
The survey indicates consumer behaviour is shifting towards refiling and recharging vapes following the ban on disposable vape sales from 1 June.
Some 92% of respondents said the last vape they bought was a prefilled pod kit or refillable pod. The same number claimed they always recharged and refilled their vapes and 32% that they had never disposed of a vape, suggesting that many could have several at home.
Two thirds (66.9%) said they changed their pod or add more e-liquid at least once a week and 56% that they charged their vape every day.
With brands including Lost Mary and ElfBar retailing prefilled pods for the same price as outlawed disposable vapes, campaigners had feared the ban would be ineffective and that vapers would buy a new vape instead of reusing theirs.
John Dunne, director general of the UK Vaping Industry Association (UKVIA) said: “It is heartening to see that The Grocer survey shows that the uptake of reusable vapes is so high. The fact that 92% say they always recharge and refill their devices puts to bed the myth that large numbers of vapers are treating their devices as disposables.”
Dunne said many retailers were very good at providing and publicising their take-back facilities but that “more needs to be done to ensure that vapers know how to safely and responsibly dispose of their used devices”.
He added: “Shifting the entire onus on disposal to the vape industry is unrealistic and does not work in the real world.
“We need more disposable facilities at point of use rather than just point of sale so that it is as easy as possible for consumers to properly dispose of their used devices. Better consumer education is also needed because The Grocer survey suggests that vapers want to do the right thing but don’t always know what that is.”
Scott Butler, executive director of Material Focus, said: “New models of vapes look the same, taste the same and are priced the same as the models they have replaced. Although it’s good that hopefully some people are beginning to reuse their vapes, overall the concern is that many vapes are still being disposed of incorrectly and continuing to cause environmental damage including a rise in the number of fires in the waste stream.
“Our research has shown that recycling vapes needs to be made much easier and vapers need a range of recycling options – with the priority being collections in store, to street recycling schemes and other publicly available options. This should be paid for by those who are profiting from their sale – vape importers, producers and retailers.
“Local authorities and their partner waste management company costs should be covered by vape producers, importers and retailers. Too many companies are continuing to not meet their legal obligations to cover the costs of collection and recycling and this is continuing to lead to major environmental issues and fire risks.”
Convenience Data UK, powered by Talysis, shared exclusively with The Grocer, also suggests a slow shift in behaviour.
Pod sales rose to £6.1m in w/e 7 September from £5.7m w/e 3 August and £2.7m in the week before the ban.
Disposable vape sales have plunged from £7.4m in the week leading up to the ban to £246,000 w/e 7 September.
“We are seeing a gradual rise in sales of pods, so it does look like some shoppers are reusing their kits. If the trend continues, sales of pods should overtake the 2ml kits in the next few months, if not weeks,” said Ed Roberts, Talysis founder and managing director.
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