Clean Up Australia and the Waste Management and Resource Recovery Association of Australia (WMRR) are calling on the Federal Government to enforce a producer responsibility scheme for the safe disposal of vapes.
Currently, there is no safe disposal pathway for vapes which are a major cause of fires in waste trucks, processing facilities and landfills.
Preliminary data from Clean Up Australia’s volunteers in 2023 indicate more than half of all sites are reporting vapes littered in the environment.
Under current regulations, disposal often falls between the cracks and is subject to different waste regimes across the country leading to danger and confusion. Vapes usually contain a mixture of toxic chemicals, lithium-ion batteries and single use plastic, so need to be disposed of carefully and correctly.
Due to the battery being embedded, vapes are not included in the nationwide Battery Stewardship Scheme meaning they cannot be dropped off at battery recycling points, like supermarkets and retailers.
Consumers are often confused and put them in general waste. Authorities believe the incorrect disposal of a battery was the cause of a fire which destroyed the ACT’s recycling plant in December 2022.
Pip Kiernan, Chair of Clean Up Australia, said for years cigarette butts have been the most littered item in Australia but vape litter is emerging as a new and serious environmental issue.
“At the moment, there is no standardised or consistent way to collect and safely dispose and recover vapes in Australia, with the onus of figuring out how to safely dispose of them with the consumer, when really it should be for the producer to provide,” she said.
“There is an urgent, overdue need for a safe system for the disposal of vapes devices, refills and e-liquids. There is currently no federal or state legislation governing end-of-life disposal for vapes. They are simultaneously classified as e-waste because of their electronic components, and as hazardous waste due to the liquid nicotine residue, making recycling difficult.
“We need to set clear national standards on environmentally responsible disposal of this waste and hold the industry accountable for adhering to them,” Ms Kiernan said.
Gayle Sloan, WMRR Chief Executive Officer, said with a Federal and New South Wales government crackdown on the sale and marketing of non-prescription vapes, now is an opportunity to ensure producers manage their lifecycle and cost of disposal.
“The evidence is in. These products start fires, put our workers at risk and they litter our environment. If ever there was a case for producer responsibility nationally, this is it,” Sloan said.
“It’s only logical that the companies which make these things should be responsible for their disposal and perhaps that could be through their point of sale at places like chemists or tobacconists.
“The Australian Government is rightly taking world-leading action to tighten legislation around the distribution, packaging and quality of vapes. It must also take world-leading action to deal with their safe disposal before another facility is destroyed.”
Kiernan said the problem of vape waste is emblematic of a larger problem – new products can be introduced into the market with no regard for the safe disposal of their component parts when their useful life comes to an end.
“Clean Up Australia joins with WMRR in calling for federal ministers to work together to develop a strong product stewardship scheme to close the loop on vapes, to ensure manufacturers take responsibility for the entire life cycle of their products, including recycling and end-of-life disposal,” Kiernan said.
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