Knowsley’s Household Waste Recycling Centres at Huyton and Kirkby have new ‘Disposable Vape’ bins to help provide safe disposal and recycling routes for singe-use vapes.
Single-use vapes contain lithium-ion batteries which can catch fire if broken or incorrectly disposed of. 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.
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