The Scottish Grocers’ Federation (SGF) and disposable e-cigarette brand ElfBar are rolling out a fully funded recycling programme for used disposable vapes across convenience stores, reports The Grocer.

The programme will see a return point in form of a vape bin, that would ideally be placed behind the counter, installed at convenience stores. The bins will be collected every two weeks by Recover which is a UK lithium battery recycling company. ElfBar is committed to delivering a closed-loop recycling system by 2025 and this initiative marks the first step in making sure that the plastic components and battery of disposable vapes are correctly dismantled and recycled.
According to The Grocer, the launch took place at Costcutter retailer Anand Cheema’s ‘Fresh in Falkirk’ convenience store and 20 further SGF member stores are set to join the programme this year.
“I am delighted to participate in the pilot programme and to be able to offer my customers an in-store return point, through the vape bin, for their used vape products,” said Anand Cheema. “As a convenience retailer, I want to play my part in reducing the littering associated with single-use, vaping products which in turn will benefit our local environment. This is a positive step forward and one which I fully support.”
“SGF recognise, however, that single-use vapes can also be a gateway to long-term vaping products for those quitting smoking, but that they must stop appearing in our streets and parks. Stores participating in the pilot will be able to offer customers a return point in-store through a recycling bin for used vapes and retailers will be provided with a convenient waste and recycling option as part of this,” said SGF CEO Pete Cheema.
“We welcome the opportunity to join with SGF in this important extension of our Green Awareness recycling programme. To date, our own programme has covered 70 stores in England and Wales with plans to scale up in terms of recycling bin coverage by the end of the year, including the 20 SGF member stores in Scotland in this pilot partnership with SGF,” said Eve Peters, ElfBar UK director of government affairs.