Biffa Launches Takeback Scheme
Waste processing company Biffa has launched a national collection and recycling solution for disposable vapes
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by Dave Cross
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More than 1.3 million non-rechargeable vapes are disposed of in the UK every week - but confusion about their ability to be recycled means many wrongly end up in general waste or as litter.
Under strict WEEE ‘waste electrical and electronic equipment’ rules, vapes must be disposed of at a household recycling centre, a designated collection facility or at the shop where they were bought.
The lithium batteries they contain are a pollution risk and a fire hazard, and retailers could be fined up to £5,000 per store for not having a vape return system in place.
Biffa’s new Vape Takeback Scheme allows consumers to safely discard single-use e-cigarettes via in-store bins, tackling litter and helping shops and supermarkets comply with the law.
Biffa is also providing vape return bins at dozens of other locations across the UK, including airports, motorway service areas, NHS sites, universities and colleges, railway stations, distribution centres, shopping centres and offices.
The vapes are taken by Biffa to an Approved Authorised Treatment Facility (AATF) to be dismantled into their constituent parts - battery, casing, electronics, nicotine pads - with each being treated separately. Up to 80% of the vape device can be recycled.
Daniel Barrett, of Biffa’s Reactive Services team, said: “It is vital that single use vapes are disposed of properly via trusted Approved Authorised Treatment Facilities.
“Far too many end up in landfill or being incinerated, preventing perfectly good material like lithium and plastic from being recycled back into new products.
“Until now, there have been limited options for businesses looking for a compliant solution to this problem, with only a handful of small scale regional and national options available.
“Our comprehensive Vape Takeback scheme represents another important initiative from Biffa aimed not only at supporting our customers to better address and increase their recycling efforts but demonstrating our own commitment to playing a key role in contributing to the UK’s Net Zero targets by reducing landfill and emissions."
References: www.biffa.co.uk/business-waste/specialist-services
Photo Credit:
Red photo by Forest Simon on Unsplash, rotated and cropped
Dave Cross
Journalist at POTVDave is a freelance writer; with articles on music, motorbikes, football, pop-science, vaping and tobacco harm reduction in Sounds, Melody Maker, UBG, AWoL, Bike, When Saturday Comes, Vape News Magazine, and syndicated across the Johnston Press group. He was published in an anthology of “Greatest Football Writing”, but still believes this was a mistake. Dave contributes sketches to comedy shows and used to co-host a radio sketch show. He’s worked with numerous start-ups to develop content for their websites.
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