In an article on the BBC, the ESA, representing the UK’s waste industry, is calling for a deposit of up to £5 to be charged on vapes at point of sale, refunded when customers return their device for proper disposal. Biffa, the UK’s largest waste company, has put the £5 figure on the table.
The argument behind it is straightforward: a year on from the disposable vape ban, the waste industry is still seeing hundreds of thousands of vapes arriving at facilities hidden in general rubbish every week, causing fires and sending valuable materials straight to landfill rather than recycling.