According to a report by Letsrecycle on November 18th, a Freedom of Information request submitted to the UK Environment Agency (EA) revealed that no e-cigarette companies were fined or prosecuted for failure to fulfill their Waste Electrical and Electronic Equipment (WEEE) obligations between 2022 and May 2024.
According to the law, e-cigarette retailers must provide customers with a way to return used devices.
The UK Vaping Industry Association (UKVIA) is calling on regulatory agencies to take stricter measures against companies that do not comply with this regulation.
The Environment Agency (EA) explained that the WEEE regulations do not include "civil penalty response options" that involve fines, but if manufacturers are found guilty, they may face unlimited fines. The EA also added that e-cigarette manufacturers do not have an obligation to indicate whether they are retailers, distributors, manufacturers, or other types of producers when registering or reporting data.
The office responsible for establishing product safety and standards regulations for e-cigarette retail stores stated that they have not kept track of the number of professional and non-professional e-cigarette companies that have been fined or prosecuted for failing to meet their obligations. Due to the constantly changing industry landscape, this data has not been collected, but the office explained that they have conducted a series of educational activities.
UKVIA stated that their freedom of information request was a result of a consultation from the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (Defra) on "reforming the producer responsibility system for waste electrical and electronic equipment". The consultation results are expected to be released in the coming months.
UKVIA warns that the UK's ban on disposable e-cigarettes could have a significant impact on the waste management chain. The association is also concerned that this measure could lead to a surge in illegal products, posing greater risks to consumers, especially young people. A survey by the convenience store association indicates that the ban will result in an annual increase of £6.45 billion in black market transactions.
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