21st March 2024
“All retailers and producers of vaping products need to take their environmental responsibility seriously and we would certainly expect those who are UKVIA members to be compliant with the existing regulations. These figures are very concerning and more needs to be done, not just by retailers who must shoulder their responsibility, but also Government and regulators, who need to police compliance effectively. We briefed our members on the updated regulations at the start of this year and we will continue to stress that all retailers, whether UKVIA members or not, make any necessary changes by the April deadline. We also work closely with the Office of Product Safety and Standards to ensure the right controls are in place.
“The UKVIA has long recognised and acknowledged the challenges presented by single-use vapes and have led on a number of key initiatives to encourage vape retailers, producers and consumers to play their part in reducing environmental waste.
“The most effective step the Government can take to ensure compliance would be to introduce a licensing scheme for vape retailers where a license to operate is predicated on a take-back facility being in place. We have been calling for such a scheme for many years now, not only for this reason, but also to ensure retailers are only selling legal vapes to adults and not children.
“We would also urge local authorities to play their part in recycling vapes. A new FOI investigation from the UKVIA found 80% of surveyed councils have no plans to introduce new vape recycling services in the next year and a third don’t currently offer drop off points for used vapes of any kind. Material Focus is calling for the introduction of vape waste collection points in parks and other public spaces and this is clearly an area where local authorities could really make a difference.
“The UKVIA is holding an event in April where both the vape and the waste industry can work better together to meet the environmental challenge of recycling vapes”.
John Dunne, Director General, UK Vaping Industry Association.