Recycling news for October 2023
Here’s our roundup of recycling news for October 2023 – including the discussion around banning disposable vapes and new materials old clothes can be recycled into.
With Landfill costs continually on the increase, we are working hard to constantly reduce the amount we have to dispose of in UK landfills and reduce our carbon footprint. Our commingled recycling collections are diverted away from landfill 100% and recycled using various recycling incentives, including the Melton Mowbray BID Scheme.
Should disposable vapes be banned?
The debate around disposable vapes continues, with a ban possibly coming soon. The batteries are hard to recycle and huge amounts of lithium and plastic are used to create the disposable vape including the device itself and the packaging. These single-use products contribute to the already massive problem of plastic waste, which takes hundreds of years to decompose. While plastic recycling can help, this material often ends up in landfills or pollutes our oceans.
“A ban on disposable vapes would also importantly not be a ban on vaping, so that would still be available in a form that is less harmful to the environment,
https://www.bigissue.com/news/environment/disposable-vape-ban-elf-bar-lost-mary/
The materials used in disposable vapes make them a potential hazard to humans, wildlife and the environment when they’re thrown away. Lithium batteries are highly flammable and have been causing dangerous fires in bin lorries and waste processing centres.
Then there’s the pollution from disposable vapes. If they’re littered or in landfill, there’s a risk of harmful chemicals like battery acid, lithium and nicotine leaking into the environment
https://www.greenpeace.org.uk/news/are-disposable-vapes-bad-for-the-environment/
A disposable vape contains an average 0.15g of lithium which is around 10 tonnes thrown away every year in the UK. That’s enough to make around 1,200 electric car batteries and would reduce the energy and water usage of mining activities by using proper WEEE recycling services.
What can old clothes be recycled into right now? Puzzles, pillows and plastic pellets
Two Australian companies are helping the issue of clothing waste by recycling the materials into ‘fluff’ and boards. The fluff can be used for beds, pillows and insulation. The recycled boards can be used for signage, retail displays, kitchen cupboards, walls, boxes and children’s puzzles.
Clothes are very difficult to recycle back into textiles. They are generally blends of several different materials and come in a wide range of colours, which complicates the processes required. Because clothes do not have their own waste collection stream like plastic, glass or paper, it is also difficult to procure the volume required for scale. Plus there is a critical lack of capacity to accurately sort garment waste, and even less technology that can actually recycle it.
Summary
In this roundup we’ve discussed the reasons why disposable vapes might soon be banned for environmental reasons, and some promising new ways clothes can be recycled into new materials instead of being sent to landfill.
Looking for waste disposal or recycling for your small business in the Melton or Leicester area? Contact us today for a chat!