The UK Government is to take action that will force online marketplaces and vape producers to pay for recycling and the cleaning up of electrical waste. 

Circular economy minister Mary Creagh announced the changes, which the government hopes will ensure large online retailers ‘pay their fair share’ to cover the costs of recycling products that result in often difficult to dispose of e-waste.

As well as helping to fund recycling services, the move is also designed to boost the UK’s circular economy, which the new government has labelled as a key priority.

Under the plans, online marketplaces will need to register with the Environment Agency and report data on UK sales of their overseas sellers, with this data then used to calculate the financial contribution online marketplaces will make towards the costs of waste electricals that are collected by local authorities and returned to retailers.  

A new category of electrical equipment for vapes, which are rarely designed with the end of life in mind, is also set to be introduced, which the government said will ensure that the costs for collection and treatment of vapes will fall fairly on those who produce them. 

“Electrical equipment like vapes are being sold in the UK by producers who are failing to pay their fair share when recycling and reusing of dealing with old or broken items,” said the circular economy minister.

“Today we’re ending this: creating a level playing field for all producers of electronics, to ensure fairness and fund the cost of the treatment of waste electricals.”

The government said that the new rules will end the current recycling system, where UK-based shoulder the majority of costs around collection and processing of e-waste.

With these changes, it’s hoped that online businesses will now take more responsibility for what has become huge quantities of preventable waste, with research from Material Focus estimating that UK households incorrectly throw away over 100,000 tonnes of smaller household electrical items, such as kettles and lamps, every year. 

Material Focus also found that almost 5 million vapes are either littered or thrown away in general waste every week in the UK, while an estimated 880 million unwanted items containing valuable commodities such as gold and platinum, are left unrecycled.

Scott Butler, executive director at Material Focus, said: “FastTech items such as vapes, have swamped the UK market, with half a billion items bought in the past year alone.

“These changes to regulations will mean that online marketplaces, many of which are selling FastTech and other electricals, must take on their producer responsibilities and contribute their share of the costs of recycling them. 

“Creating a separate category for vapes also means that those who have been profiting from the boom in their sales can be held responsible for providing public takeback, communications and most importantly pay for recycling them.”

Recommended reading

• How Much E-waste is Generated in the UK?
• New Study: A Third of Scots Don’t Know How to Recycle E-waste
• International E-waste Day: Is FastTech the New Fast Fashion?

The changes are being introduced alongside plans to move forward with the implementation of the deposit return scheme for drinks containers, and extended producer responsibility for packaging, with the aim being to end the nation’s ‘throwaway culture’.

According to the government, these packaging reforms will collectively support 21,000 jobs, stimulate more than £10 billion investment in recycling capability during the next decade, and drive £1 billion worth of investment opportunities in plastics infrastructure.