Vape brand Elf Bar recently hosted a pop-up event in London centered around raising public awareness about the importance of recycling single-use vapes.
The initiative was part of its GreenAwareness programme, which aims to promote responsible recycling practices.
In a move to encourage vape take-back, the programme debuted in April this year and provides free recycling bins to retail and convenience stores.
The vape brand recently announced its partnership with the Scottish Grocer’s Federation (SGF) to roll out 1000 free vape recycling bins to SGF members.
ElfBar claimed that the returns from the trial phases have been promising, with 80,000 in total since June from the initial 70 stores participating in the pilot.
Speaking to Convenience Store, Chris Kader head of PR and communications at Elf Bar UK said: “As a wider part of the programme, it’s about investing and researching development and more recycling facilities. We’re looking at how vape and single-use products are instrumental as a smoking cessation tool and we have done research and 72% of ex-smokers and 56% of current smokers all agree that having single-use vapes is intrinsic to their journey to quit smoking.”
The event showcased GreenAwareness recycling bins and unveils a conceptual single-use vape designed to simplify the dismantling process for recycling with easier battery separation.
In addition, it displayed the programme’s progress in the collection, transportation and dismantling of single-use vapes and the future reuse of vapes.
Eve Peters director of government affairs for the UK and spokesperson for Elf Bar commented on the programme: “All the external recycling waste partners we have engaged with, including Recover and TES, agree that single-use vapes are highly recyclable with many reusable components, including the battery. The pop-up is about letting the public know they can return their used vapes for recycling.
“Recognising the thousands of existing vape recycling points across the UK available through the Material Focus recycling locator, we understand that millions of vapes are already undergoing collection for disassembly. GreenAwareness’ independent efforts complement this by advancing the recycling process for single-use vapes.
“From this modest start, momentum is gaining as more bins arrive in retail and convenience stores across the UK. As the programme evolves, so will the development of supporting infrastructure to enhance single-use vape recycling throughout the chain. Battery test charging to determine suitability for further use and washing techniques to advance plastic reuse are already being conducted to amplify efforts.”
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