The Wastecare Group says: “We are pleased to announce our latest partnership to increase vape collection and recycling across the UK. We have teamed up with e-cigarette and vaping group Supreme Plc and global vape brand ELFBAR, to roll out vape collection bins across all B&M stores.
“This monumental scheme Supreme describes as the ‘first of its kind to appear in the entire state of a nationwide retail chain’, in the hope it will ‘significantly increase’ the expansion of recycling.
“With more than 700 in-store vape recycling bins due to be rolled out in the coming months, Wastecare will be managing the collection and recycling. We are currently trialling mechanised approaches to dismantling vapes, with the collected devices to be recovered and recycled in line with existing disposal rules: the vape batteries are processed to recover the lithium, and the filter and nicotine elements are sent for incineration.
“These vape bins will provide a convenient disposal point for B&M’s shoppers, whilst our nationwide logistics network will ensure a sustainable and efficient collection process. We believe that a visible recycling scheme with consistent collections will demonstrate the commitment of vape producers and retailers alike and will be a key step toward shifting public behaviour.”
Sandy Chadha, the chief executive officer of Supreme, is reported as saying that the company always wants to be “one step ahead”, and states that this applies to its approach to the business’ impact on the environment.
Some may wonder why the company has dragged its feet over the last two years up to this point as many, Planet of the Vapes included, have been saying businesses needed to address environmental sustainability?
“As an organisation,” Sandy Chadha reportedly said, “we are continually developing long-term recycling solutions across our whole product portfolio, and we are proud to be further driving recycling of used vapes across the breadth of the UK, in nearly 700 retail stores. We hope this scheme will play its part to help vape users dispose in a far more sustainable manner. This is just the start of our ongoing plans; we are fully committed to increasing the rates of recycling. I hope one day every vape user disposes of their vape in the right way.”
The B&M chain commented: “B&M welcomes the opportunity to work in a three-way partnership with Elfbar and Supreme to tackle the ongoing environmental damage occurring by single-use, disposable vaping products. 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. These new bins offer a convenient and sustainable way for customers to dispose of their vapes. Like many of the other products we sell, vapes should never be binned or littered – especially now they can be so easily recycled.”
The Wastecare Group concluded: “If you’re a vape producer, importer, distributor or retailer – our collection and our compliance team are on hand to provide expert advice and solutions – contact them here or email [email protected].”
Photo Credit:
PHOTO BY ANGELA BENITO ON UNSPLASH
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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