Strawberry Ice, Blue Razz Lemonade or Cola – flavored disposable vapes (e-cigarettes) have conquered Switzerland in no time. The problem: after only 600 moves, the thing ends up in the trash. Actually, it doesn’t really belong there.
There are different vapes: those with a rechargeable battery, those with an adjustable temperature and those with no adjustment at all. A disposable vape from the country’s popular brand Elf Bar costs around CHF 8.90 online and consists of a mouthpiece, a lithium battery, a container of liquid, a vaporizer and a mostly colorful plastic case.
The Elf Bar is advertised on the website vape.ch with this comment: “From an ecological point of view, disposable e-cigarettes should only be used as ‘test devices’ or for ’emergency’ purposes. In our stores we are happy to advise you on better alternatives that are rechargeable and are refillable.”
Below, the consumer is asked to return the empty vaporizers to the store free of charge so that they can be disposed of properly. However, few respond to this request – this is confirmed by Sabrina Bjöörn, the deputy director of the Sens Foundation. “When we talk to our collection points, we notice that only a very small part is actually returned.” In Switzerland, Sens handles the recycling of waste electrical and electronic equipment.
Figures from the UK also show how big the resulting waste problem really is. According to the Leicestershire Waste Partnership, at least 1.3 million single-use vapes are thrown away across the country – every week.
At least here in Switzerland, the distributors of disposable vapes should make sure they are disposed of properly and pay the cost of their recycling, while the consumer is only hit with an obligation to return them.
As Sabrina Bjöörn explains, recycling vapes is important for two reasons. Firstly, it ensures that no harmful substances enter the environment and, secondly, resources are saved by reusing raw materials.
The disassembly of the disposable vapes is currently still done by hand – but the process needs to be optimized further.
A little over a year ago, the trend towards colorful disposable vapes started in Switzerland – since then you can buy the vaporizers on almost every corner: in a kiosk, in a locksmith or even in a shoe store. With the growing market, a long-term disposal solution became more and more urgent – just before Christmas 2022, efforts were made to find an industrial solution.
Mario Puppo is the president of the “Swiss Vape Trade Association”, the association of vape sellers in Switzerland. He owns the online shop vape.ch and a vape shop in Uster, one in Wetzikon and one in Effretikon. He tells Watson how the solution to the problem started: “The association and Sens tried to talk to each other. Just before Christmas, we advised all our members to join in and conclude the recycling contract with Sens, which has been drawn up especially for the industry.” The first major providers have already signed, says Puppo enthusiastically.
To look for an industry solution, according to Bjöörn, it was first important to feel “a certain commitment” from the industry. Once this was determined, the first step was to look for options that start at the point of sale. Sens is currently working with Swiss Post on a collection solution for the whole of Switzerland: “All points of sale for disposable vapes will receive bags – just like Nespresso capsules for example – so that they can collect the empty products and pass them on to the recycling center.” Participants then pay a fixed recycling fee for each vape sold.
In a next step, these collection bags should also be available to consumers, so that they do not have to go to a point of sale to return their used e-cigarettes. It is naive to expect customers to take their vape to a collection point. For it to work, “more ease has to be brought into the concept,” says Bjöörn. In the future, consumers may be able to put their vaporizers in a bag in the mailbox and the post office will pick them up.
Mario Puppo and Sabrina Bjöörn are proud that a solution for the entire industry has been found in a very short time. Puppo says: “In other countries, such disposable vapes have existed for a long time and so far no solution has been found for disposal.” The collaboration is expected to start in the second quarter of 2023.
However, this agreement is voluntary. In theory, each distributor can take care of the recycling of his goods himself – but it would make sense for a system to apply throughout Switzerland, says Bjöörn. Sens operates a voluntary take-back system that depends on the cooperation of the association and the solidarity of its members.
With its website, Sens has a little leverage to help, which is that it publishes who participates in the system and who doesn’t. Those who, even after repeated inquiries, still do not want to participate in this take-back system will be included in the list of non-participants.
Whoever participates also bears the removal costs of those who do not join Sens in solidarity. Accordingly, you must take back vapes from all suppliers. Importers of batteries and accumulators are already required to report their goods to ‘Inobat’. “Inobat” acts on behalf of the federal government and ensures that any battery imported into Switzerland is properly disposed of. With disposable vapes, however, there is even more waste – Sens takes care of that.
Climate youth and disposable vapes seem contradictory: it is well known that the younger generation, today’s young adults, have a special affinity for environmental issues. And yet, according to an article by SRF, it is precisely these young people who pull their “Elf Bars” 600 times and then throw them in the garbage along with the battery. Mario Puppo was also surprised by this when he showed his customers the benefits of a reusable e-cigarette: the argument that a rechargeable vape is cheaper in the long run is unfortunately much more popular with young people than the argument about environmental friendliness.
According to Puppo, about 30 percent of the industry’s revenue was generated last year by sales of single-use e-cigarettes — numbers have been gradually decreasing since July 2022. Either because more people buy a reusable and refillable vaporizer, or because they simply buy their disposable vapes elsewhere, from a non-specialized store.
Source: Blick
I am Dawid Malan, a news reporter for 24 Instant News. I specialize in celebrity and entertainment news, writing stories that capture the attention of readers from all walks of life. My work has been featured in some of the world’s leading publications and I am passionate about delivering quality content to my readers.
