Electronic Cigarettes: Waste Disposal

(asked on 18th May 2023) - View Source

Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:

To ask His Majesty's Government what steps they are taking to reduce the non-recycled waste from disposable vapes; and what plans they have to build awareness of the direct effect of disposable vapes on the environment.


Answered by
Lord Benyon Portrait
Lord Benyon
Minister of State (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
This question was answered on 30th May 2023

Disposable vapes are considered to be electrical products and fall within scope of the Waste Electrical and Electronic Equipment (WEEE) Regulations. Businesses placing more than 5 tonnes of disposable vapes onto the UK market have a financial obligation to fund the collection and recycling of waste disposable vapes. The regulations also set minimum recycling targets for waste electrical equipment. We will shortly be consulting on reviewing these regulations with a view to introducing measures aimed at driving up levels of collections of waste electricals, including vapes, to ensure more of these products are properly recycled.

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