‘Five million’ vapes now thrown away weekly, Material Focus says

And, the potential yearly cost of collecting and recycling these vapes according to Material Focus research now stands at £200 million.

Material Focus is an independent not-for-profit which is funded by the WEEE compliance fee. The research was conducted by YouGov with calculations from Material Focus and surveyed UK adults, and for the first time this year 16-17 year olds,  to identify how many single-use vapes are being bought in the UK and their methods of disposal.

Some of the standout findings from the survey show:

• Over 30 million single-use vapes are bought per month by UK adults 16+ (double compared to Material Focus research conducted of adults 18+ in 2022)
• Only 17% of people who buy vapes (“vapers”) say that they recycle single-use vapes in a shop or local recycling centre
• Nearly 3  million single-use vapes a month are being hoarded in UK cupboards
• 73% of UK vapers say they throw away single-use vapes

‘Out of control’

Scott Butler, executive director at Material Focus, said: “Since we last published our research the problem with single-use vapes has gotten further out of control. Single-use vapes  are a strong contender for being the most environmentally wasteful, damaging and dangerous consumer product ever made.

“And still very few producers and retailers comply with environmental regulations and haven’t put recycling drop-off points and systems in place. This all means that too often local authorities are being burdened with the major operational and financial headaches associated with what is now the fastest growing and most dangerous waste stream in the UK, single-use vapes.”

Solutions

Material Focus has also put together a list of “solutions needed to solve the problem”.

This includes:

• Immediate, significant and transparent vape industry voluntary action on a comprehensive and widely accessible take-back and recycling solution alongside a major communications campaign to raise public awareness
• More recycling points for vapes in stores, parks, public places and schools and colleges
• All supermarkets, high street convenience stores, petrol stations, and specialist vape stores should be taking back old single-use vapes when you buy new ones

Fires

With the number of single use vapes soaring over the last year, calls have been ramping up from parts of the waste industry for them to be banned because of the risk they pose to workers through fires.

Last year Material Focus conducted research that identified that 700 fires are caused by batteries hidden inside electricals such as vapes in the waste stream.

Residents are supposed to take vapes to a recycling centre, as vapes can explode when put into a refuse collection vehicle or treatment infrastructure, with a string of incidents across the sector.

Mr Butler added: “Vapes, like any other electrical with a plug, battery or cable, should never be binned and always be recycled as a minimum. We need rapid growth in the number of accessible and visible vape recycling drop-off points. And we need proper financing of genuine recycling solutions to recover materials and manage fire risks.

“Until single-use vape producers, importers and retailers act to genuinely comply with and finance their legal environmental responsibilities then the calls for banning the sale of them will only strengthen.”