New rules covering e-retailers such as Amazon that import into the U.K. will introduce a category specifically for vapes, among other changes. | B..Robinson/Shutterstock
New U.K. rules will require online retailers importing electronics into the country to contribute to costs associated with recycling e-scrap there, and introduce a new category specifically for vapes.
“Online marketplaces and vape producers will soon be paying their fair share towards the cost of recycling waste electricals, from toasters to vapes and hair curlers, levelling the playing field for UK retailers,” said Circular Economy Minister Mary Creagh in a Dec. 10 press release.
Under the new regulations, online marketplaces will need to register with the U.K.’s Environment Agency and report data on U.K. sales by their overseas sellers, according to the press release. The agency will then use the data to calculate the online marketplace’s financial contribution toward collecting and treating end-of-life electricals collected by local governments and returned to retailers. The agency will lead a public consultation to determine the cost of the annual registration.
In addition, the rules will introduce a new category of electrical equipment for vapes, to ensure that the costs of collecting and treating them fall to those who produce them.
“Before now, U.K.-based firms were shouldering the majority of costs around collection and processing of electronic waste and operating at a disadvantage,” according to the press release, citing research from non-profit electronics recycling organization Material Focus that indicates that British households incorrectly throw away more than 100,000 metric tons a year of smaller household electrical items, such as kettles and lamps.
The rule change “will help to ensure that businesses take responsibility for the huge quantities of waste that might otherwise end up being littered or fly-tipped,” or illegally dumped, the press release said.
In an emailed statement, a spokesperson from Amazon said the company offers free home pickup of consumer electrical and electronic equipment in the U.K. The company said it doesn’t send any end-of-life electronics to landfill and contractually prohibits waste management partners from sending products to landfill, which Amazon regularly audits for compliance.
“Amazon is committed to minimising waste and helping our customers to reuse, repair, and recycle their products,” the company said in a written statement. “We provide a range of options through the Amazon Second Chance website, and customers can recycle electronics through Amazon Trade-In and home collection services on our Amazon Recycling website. We also work closely with many major repair partners like GXO ServiceTech to repair and refurbish thousands of electronic products to help give them a second life.”
As part of the government’s Plan for Change, the new rule aims to help U.K. businesses compete and grow, and to encourage household recycling, “cracking down on waste and ending the throwaway society.”
Scott Butler, executive director at Material Focus, said: “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.”
FastTech items include vapes and other small, inexpensive electronic items, and Butler said half a billion items were bought in the past year alone.
Butler added: “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.” Material Focus found that almost 5 million vapes per week are improperly disposed of in the U.K.
In addition to the e-scrap rule changes, the government plans to move forward with implementing a deposit return scheme for beverage containers and extended producer responsibility for packaging to “end the nation’s throwaway culture and stop the avalanche of rubbish that is filling up our high streets, countryside, and oceans,” the press release said.