Rise of Vape Fires Prompts Urgent Action from Merseyside Recycling and Waste Authority

All 16 Household Waste Recycling Centres across the region have new ‘Disposable Vape’ bins to help provide safe disposal and recycling routes for the three million vapes currently thrown away each week across the UK.

Single-use vapes contain lithium-ion batteries which can catch fire if broken and with a rise in vape-use, this is a growing risk across the country. Research published by Material Focus shows that batteries not removed from electrical items cause more than 600 fires in refuse collection vehicles and at waste sites every year.

Disposable vapes will be sent to a facility where resources are recovered through manual dismantling, segregation, cleaning and specialist recycling of the plastic, glass and metals including lithium, cobalt, nickel and manganese.

Donald Macphail, Chief Operating Officer - Treatment at Veolia said:

“Two vapes are thrown away every second. They might be called disposable, but they can and should be recycled. Our new disposable vape bins at Recycling Centres will provide a safe recycling avenue to ensure that we can extract the valuable materials contained within, and prevent any fire and environmental risks.”

Lesley Worswick, Chief Executive of Merseyside Recycling and Waste Authority, said:

“Anything containing batteries, including vapes, should never be placed in your waste or recycling at home. Batteries are currently the biggest cause of fires at recycling and waste management facilities and in collection vehicles.”

Alongside the Recycling Centres, which are operated by Veolia on behalf of Merseyside Recycling and Waste Authority, most large shops and some independent vape retailers such as Totally Wicked, also have dedicated bins where batteries can be disposed of safely.

Residents are asked not to dismantle the vapes in any way before disposal for safety reasons, unless it’s a reusable unit where the batteries have been designed to be safely removed for separate recycling.

For more information on what you can recycle and your nearest Centre visit recycleright.org.uk