October 28, 2024 15:40
Starting next year, vaping will become more challenging—or at least more expensive—in the United Kingdom. Circular Economy Minister Mary Creagh has introduced legislation in Parliament to ban the sale of disposable electronic cigarettes beginning June 1, 2025.
The ban targets single-use devices, which are neither rechargeable nor reusable and are blamed for contributing to street litter proliferation.
“Even when sent to recycling facilities,” stated the minister, “they usually have to be disassembled by hand—a slow and difficult process that will struggle to keep up with the pace of vape production. Their lithium-ion batteries can also present a fire risk to waste industry workers.”
According to Materials Focus, nearly five million disposable e-cigarettes are used each week in the UK and subsequently discarded as waste, marking a 400% increase over the previous year.
© Polimerica - Reproduction prohibited, all rights reserved