Forecourt retailers have just over four months to get rid of their stock of single use vapes by selling or responsibly recycling them – or face legal action and commercial loss.
That is the warning from the government, which has today issued new guidance on its vaping legislation that comes into force on June 1 across the UK’s four nations.
The advice, published by the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, also clarifies the penalties for selling disposable vapes after that date.
Although they differ slightly across the four nations, the sanctions are severe.
In England, Trading Standards departments will issue fines of £200 and seize single use vapes and can impose costs on retailers. Those who continue to supply single use vapes could be charged with an unlimited fine, a prison sentence of up to two years, or both. The penalties in Wales are similar.
Retailers in Scotland and Northern Ireland found guilty of flouting the ban will be subject to fines of up to £5,000, with possible two-year jail sentences for those convicted a second time.
The guidance also defines a single use vape as one that is neither rechargeable nor refillable. To be considered rechargeable, a vape must have a chargeable battery and a coil. Refillable requires it to have a container that can be refilled or replaced.
It warns retailers that they must assist and provide any information or evidence to an enforcing authority and demonstrate that an “average user can separately buy individual refill items for the vaping items you stock”.
In addition, the guidance reminds store owners who sell vapes that they must offer a take-back service under the Waste Electrical and Electronic Equipment (WEEE) regulations. This includes any single use vapes returned by customers after June 1 as well as refillable and rechargeable vapes. The products should be disposed of in dedicated vape bins and regularly collected for recycling.
It says that anyone who still has single use vapes in their shop at the beginning of June must separate them from other goods, label them as unsellable, and remove them from the shopfloor until they have been collected by a recycling service.
For full details see the DEFRA website.
The Association of Convenience Stores (ACS) has also published its own guide to selling vapes responsibly at www.acs.org.uk/advice/selling-vapes
