Key points:
1. Philip Morris International's Italian subsidiary reaffirmed its new goal of collecting one million devices by 2025.
2. The project aims to recycle over 80% of materials, including plastics, metals, batteries, etc., with a focus on recycling IQOS, Lil, and VEEV devices.
3. Approximately 148,000 consumers participated, with 4,600 tobacco shops joining the recycling program.
2Firsts, reporting from Shenzhen - Philip Morris International (PMI) Italy reaffirmed its commitment to the "REC - Circular Economy Recycling" (riciclo per economia circolare) project through a statement, Askanews reported.
The project focused on recycling discarded IQOS and Lil heated tobacco devices, as well as e-cigarette VEEV devices. It started from January 2024, with the aim of collecting one million devices by 2025.
In the fall, the project exceeded its first-year target of collecting 500,000 discarded devices. The company planed to recycle over 80% of the materials from these devices, including plastics, metals, magnets, lithium batteries, and circuit boards.
As part of the project, REC aimeed to collect devices from consumers for free at participating IQOS sales points and tobacco retailers, as well as devices returned based on warranty and business plans.
The "REC" project was based on a partnership agreement with the Environmental and Energy Security Department. Itexpanded to VEEVe e-cigarette devices, and collected used VEEV pods at participating sales points through the Logista "RECYCLE-CIG" project.
In addition, the "IQOS Refreshed" project launched in the spring supports the reuse of IQOS devices, with the aim of reducing the generation of electronic waste.
PMI's category manager for smoke-free products in Italy, Gianluca Iannelli, stated that:
"We are proud of the enthusiastic response from consumers to the REC program."
Participants in the recycling program included all IQOS specialty stores and approximately 4,600 tobacco shops nationwide (approximately 60% of devices are being recycled). In this program, approximately 148,000 consumers returned at least one device.
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