90% of e-cigarette makers fail to comply with UK environmental regulations, report says

Blue Hole New Consumer Report, March 8 news, according to foreign reports, after an explosive report found that 90% of e-cigarette manufacturers failed to comply with environmental regulations, leading MSPs demanded action.

Scottish Greens health spokesman Gillian Mackay said the findings reinforced the need to ban single-use e-cigarettes in the wake of Record's Bin the Vapes campaign.

The report, published by recycling group Material Focus, found that sales of disposable e-cigarettes in the UK had soared to a staggering 138 million a year.

The charity said single-use devices had become a quadruple environmental threat - wasting key resources such as lithium and copper, using polluting plastics, and posing a fire risk and hazardous waste risk.

Their analysis examined the corporate records of more than 150 UK e-cigarette companies and e-liquid producers and found that only 16 had signed up to environmental regulations making producers responsible for waste electronics, portable batteries and packaging.

Nonetheless, all of the same companies are members of vaping industry trade associations, such as the UK Vaping Industry Association (UKVIA), and register their products with the UK health regulator.

McKay told the Record that the findings are shocking and show the need for the vaping industry to pull together.

Green MSP speaks out: The vaping industry really needs to get up. This study shows that 90% of them don't comply with environmental legislation - which should be a real source of shame for them.
“I really hope we see this corrected immediately. I actually hope they pre-empt that we start to see the phase-out of disposable e-cigarettes. If they’re smart, they’ll start doing it now because I think (Bannings) will happen -- because they're causing so many problems."

McKay was given an urgent Scottish government review of disposable vaping last month, including a possible ban after the Daily Record launched a campaign to ban Holyrood chamber vaping.

We tell how the explosive popularity of single-use e-cigarettes has turned Scotland's streets and parks into plastic dumps.

Among other startling findings, Material Focus research has shown that the precious lithium lost from disposable e-cigarettes each year could power the batteries of around 2,500 electric cars.

The copper content in the product is enough to power more than 370,000 electric vehicle charging stations.

Scott Butler, executive director of Material Focus, said: The environmental responsibility of e-cigarette manufacturers is very clear. Any company that makes a lot of electronics is required to register, report its sales, and fund the recycling costs of its products. Retailers are also responsible for ensuring customers can easily recycle these products by providing in-store drop-off points.

But he added: As sales and profits have surged, the environmental impact and the cost of collecting and recycling used e-cigarettes has been overlooked.

John Dunne, director-general of industry body UKVIA, said: "We acknowledge the environmental impact of single-use e-cigarettes, but we believe there is huge potential for maximum recycling and reuse of such products."