The United Kingdom prohibits the disposable vapus, “a danger to the environment” | EUROtoday

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Cigarette butts pollute seas, seashores, parks and far more. The disposable digital cousins, nonetheless, are not any completely different.

The British authorities (https://www.gov.uk/government/News/government-crackdown-on-single-vapes) from June 1st will prohibit their commerce, because of the environmental influence they produce: they’re thrown among the many undifferentiated or scattered waste on the bottom and subsequently disposed of wrongly, in incinerators or within the landfill. In addition, it estimated that their use between the inhabitants grew by 400% between 2012 and 2023 Today”.

Is recycling possible?

According to a study by Material Focus (https://www.materialfocus.org.uk/?press-releases=big-piff-vapes-po-The-the-the-to-the-vape-environmental-crisis), in Great Britain, 8.2 million of the disposable e-cigarette per week are thrown into the waste.

The materials they are composed would need adequate treatment: 80% of the product can be recycled. The percentage of responsible consumers who recycle them at the end of the use increased to 20% this year, compared to 8% in 2024. The problem does not only concern plastic but also the lithium batteries that feed them. According to research, with the lithium contained in the electronic cigarettes thrown, it would be possible to feed 10,127 electric cars per year.

But in keeping with the federal government, the recycling process is lengthy and the disassembly have to be achieved by hand, a slower velocity than the rhythms of commercial manufacturing. Another ingredient is given by the hazard of lithium batteries, whose flammability represents a danger for employees who dispose of those waste.