After the UK banned single-use vapes. Germany called on the EU to take comprehensive action to promote environmental protection regulations and increase environmental awareness.
Germany proposes new regulation: banning disposable vapes
According to a recent report by Hasepost, the German Federal Ministry of the Environment (BMUV) is now pushing for laws and regulations across the European Union, after planning to ban the use of single-use vapes from 2025. BMUV said that the German environmental aid group co-sponsored its initiative, rather. (DUH), which highlighted the product’s environmental pollution and health hazards to young people.
EU needs to implement harmonized rules
In an interview, a BMUV spokesperson pointed out that to effectively regulate vapes, uniform rules need to be implemented across the EU market to prevent various possible loopholes. He stressed:
- “This is the only way to prevent these products from entering the banned countries through roundabout means in other EU countries.”
A BMUV spokesperson said single-use vapes should be banned from the market due to their extremely adverse environmental performance. “Their environmental performance is extremely poor: neither the battery nor the soot can be replaced.” In addition, customers often don’t know it’s an electronic product, leading to improper disposal, he noted. Improper disposal of disposable vapes may cause a fire in the sorting plant and cause environmental pollution.
The German government passed an amendment to the Electrical and Electronic Equipment Act in early October. Under the law, businesses that sell single-use vapes in the future must be responsible for recycling such products. A BMUV spokesman added: “Single-use vapes are electronic products and require special treatment when scrapped.” The revised law is still under consideration in the Bundesrat.
At the same time. Barbara Metz, federal executive president of DUH, stressed that a total ban on single-use vapes is the only right way to protect the environment, especially for young people. Metz said these vapes are “an unnecessary, bad commodity for the climate,” noting that more than 5 million are consumed every week in Germany. She accused the government of planning to implement recycling rules that were “totally inadequate”.
