Retailers that log sales of less than £100,000 per year of electricals must sign up to a Distributor Takeback Scheme (DTS),
Retailers can now be fined an unlimited amount for not having a disposable vape ‘take-back’ scheme, Better Retailing can reveal.
The Office for Product Safety and Standards (OPSS) has increased the fine from £5,000 for retailers that fail to provide consumers with an option to dispose of vapes under the WEEE (Waste Electrical and Electronic Equipment) regulations.
Alex Brothwood, scheme operations manager at Waste Experts, said that the updated fine comes amid concerns that “no one is actually getting prosecuted” for not having a takeback system.
Retailers that log sales of less than £100,000 per year of electricals including vapes must sign up to a Distributor Takeback Scheme (DTS), with charges for this service dependent on the store size and sales. Shop owners who sell more than £100,000 per year must offer an in-store option for customers to dispose of vapes.
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Waste Experts offers vape bins for £165 each. The company launched the containers in March and has sold 1,000, “which is not a huge amount”, said Brothwood. Retailers are charged £165 per bin collection.
“It was hard to get off the ground [with convenience stores] because, under the DTS, retailers have to pay for the logistics of the collection and [vapes] are expensive to recycle. There’s a lot going on in the background with legislation to make it cheaper, but it’s currently costly.”
Suppliers such as Elux and Elfbar have also launched and financed free recycling bins and collections for stores.
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