This report was created by disposable vape and vape kit retailer Vape Club, to promote responsible disposal of products. If using any of the imagery from the report, please provide a credit link to this page as the original source.
Each year, over 30 million tonnes of rubbish is collected from UK streets, enough to fill four Wembley Stadiums. In the last year alone, fly-tipping has increased by 16%, according to Defra government data*.
Globally, cigarette rubbish is the most commonly found type of litter. According to the most recent government data, the top UK litter item was small pieces of plastic and polystyrene (215 items per 100 metres), with cigarette stubs (46 per 100m) coming second and food packets (39 per 100m) in third place.
To raise awareness of this concerning issue, the team here at Vape Club re-imagined what the UK’s most famous and picturesque waterways and walking trails would look like if littering trends aren’t halted.
When vaping, it’s important to be as environmentally friendly as possible. Every time a cigarette butt is discarded on the ground, over 600 carcinogenic chemicals are released into the atmosphere. Already, by choosing vaping over smoking, on average you’re saving six trees a year from being destroyed, which is approximately 352 trees over a lifetime.
You can reduce your environmental impact even further through your choice of kit and e-liquid.
Disposable vapes have grown in popularity over the past few years. They’re an entry-level product that’s simple to use and has a low one-off cost, which is particularly appealing for smokers looking to transition to vaping.
However, of all the vaping products on offer, they’re the most tricky to dispose of responsibly since they produce both plastic waste and battery waste. They can also leak heavy metals, battery acid and nicotine into the environment when they go to landfill. It’s vital to get rid of batteries in the right way – in one of the battery bins located in neighbourhoods around the UK, or the one we provide for customers at Vape Club HQ.
All things considered, regular disposable vapes aren’t the most eco-friendly way to vape. However, the industry is taking steps towards making them more sustainable. The Riot Squad Q Bar disposable vapes available at Vape Club, for example, are fully recyclable.
There are also various alternatives to disposable vapes, which are even more eco-friendly.
Much like disposable vapes, prefilled pod kits are a simple option. The pods these systems use don’t require refilling, plus they generate less plastic waste compared to disposables.
When the e-liquid inside is finished you can replace the pod and these pods can be recycled at your local recycling centre. The battery in these kits can be recharged whenever they runs low just like a mobile phone.
Not only are refillable pod kits a more cost-effective way of vaping, they’re also greener. In fact, manually refilling a pod yourself is over six time more eco-efficient than using prefilled pods, when compared the annual plastic waste toll.
This type of vaping uses pods that last longer than disposable vapes and, as a result, don’t create so much waste. Although the e-liquid required for refilling pods often comes in plastic bottles, all Vape Club e-liquid bottles are made using recyclable materials like PET.
You’ll use e-liquid bottles to top up refillable tank kits too, but aside from these recyclable bottles the only part of these kits you’ll need to replace will be the coils. They’ll be changed around once a week, but are widely recyclable as they are uslly made of metal and cotton.
If your device uses removable batteries, there are plenty of disposable battery bins around, in locations such as supermarkets, DIY shops and even at Vape Club HQ.
Like refillable tank devices, rebuildable atomisers such as RDAs use recyclable coils and cotton components. The rebuildable atomisers themselves are made of metal and they’re recyclable too if you ever need to dispose of one.
Much of the UK’s waste nowadays comes from packaging, particularly when online shopping. At Vape Club, we do our utmost to recycle all materials and package 95% of our customer deliveries in green Jiffy bags, which are not only recyclable, but are also biodegradable. Any cardboard that comes with our products is, of course, recyclable.
Quitting smoking in favour of vaping is a decision that’s not only good for your health – it also benefits the environment. However, there is always more you can do to reduce your environmental footprint: choosing your vaping method carefully and committing to recycling as many vaping materials as possible can make a real difference.
