Mon, 01 Dec 2025

Mon, 01 Dec 2025 Vapes still causing rubbish fires despite disposable ban, major waste firm says

Six months after disposable vape ban, waste firm calls for stronger measures to control them being disposed of incorrectly.

* Suez, a major waste firm in the UK, has reported 339 fires at its facilities and trucks due to wrongly discarded vapes.
* The ban on disposable vapes came into effect six months ago, but vapes are still being incorrectly thrown away, causing fires and damage.
* The Independent British Vape Trade Association (IBVTA) says the number of vapes sold has halved since the ban, but consumer education is still a major issue.
* Suez and Biffa have warned that people are treating reusable vapes as disposable and binning them after one or two uses.
* Some manufacturers are selling products that look like disposable vapes but are actually reusable, contributing to the problem.
* The government has announced a crackdown on retailers selling illegal vapes, with fines of up to £10,000 and prison sentences possible.
* Suez is calling for a nationwide recycling scheme paid for by producers to tackle the fire risk and environmental damage from cheap throwaway vapes.
* According to figures from Nielsen IQ, 7.2m rechargeable and refillable devices were sold in October, compared to 16.2m single-use vapes per month sold last year before the ban.
  >>