Retailer Teams With Industry to Recycle Vapes

UK retailer B&M will soon start a vape recycling program in partnership with the e-cigarette brand Elf Bar and vaping manufacturer Supreme plc. The group hopes to reduce the environmental impact of disposable vaping products.

The partnership will introduce more than 700 in-store vape recycling bins across B&M retail locations.

The campaign aims to enhance vape recycling by providing consumers with a means of disposing of their used vape devices, according to media sources. The products are not collected from homes. It begins before the end of January.

The hazardous waste management provider Wastecare Group will oversee the collection of the bins once full, ensuring the responsible disposal of the single-use devices.

“B&M welcomes the opportunity to work in a three-way partnership with Elf Bar and Supreme to tackle the ongoing environmental damage occurring by single-use, disposable vaping products,” a B&M spokesperson said. “We want our consumers to use the products we sell in a responsible manner, and that remains even when they are no longer of use. Like many of the other products we sell, vapes should never be binned or littered – especially now they can be so easily recycled.”

The Scottish Government has expressed intentions to consult on banning single-use vapes due to concerns about their impact on public health and the environment. The UK Government is being urged to follow suit.

Wastecare Group’s recycling process involves the recovery and recycling of raw materials under existing disposal rules. The collected vape batteries will undergo processing to recover lithium, while the filter and nicotine elements will be sent for incineration.

All recycling processes will take place within the UK.

“Continuing Elf Bar’s commitment to its GreenAwareness program, this marks another step towards helping the public dispose of used vapes sustainably and responsibly,” said Elf Bar UK’s director of government affairs, Eve Peters.