In recent years, the popularity of disposable vapes has grown exponentially in Medway, the UK as a whole and globally.
Aside from the health implications, addictive properties and their appeal to young consumers – Disposable Vapes also have a huge impact on the natural environment.
The first of many problematic issues with Disposable vapes is their very misleading and inaccurate name. Disposable vapes are not disposable!
Vapes that are intended as a single-use product are extremely difficult to recycle. They are often glued together, are difficult to dismantle, time consuming and very expensive to recycle as this has to be done by-hand.
VAPES SHOULD NOT BE DISPOSED OF IN HOUSEHOLD WASTE
A better description for this product would be single-use vape.
Vapes contain some of the most precious metals and resources in world, including aluminium, copper, lead, chromium, nickel and lithium.
Lithium-ion batteries within a single-use vape do not have an opportunity to discharge during their very short life-span, so maintain their charge after the vaping liquid has been used. Lithium is volatile and can explode and cause fires when disposed of in general waste or cleared away after being littered. When general waste is collected, it is often contained within compactor vehicles which crush the waste as it’s put in the vehicle – the crushing motion causes the lithium-ion batteries to ignite, and has been responsible for more than 700 fires in collection trucks, HWRCs and waste treatment facilities across the UK.
Due to their volatile nature, Medway Council do not accept vapes in the small waste electronic and electrical equipment (WEEE) recycling collection scheme in libraries.
Residents can book to use their nearest HWRC to recycle vapes or can be disposed of through take-back schemes with the retailer.
The Association of Convenience Stores (ACS) has launched new guidance for retailers on how to provide a vape recycling service in-store. Under the new rules, which came into force at the start of 2024, all retailers who sell vapes (regardless of type of store) must provide a recycling facility for consumers to bring back used or unwanted vapes.