A system for separate collection and recycling of electronic cigarettes, better known recently as vaping devices, has already started working in Bulgaria. It has been implemented in the 45 sites in the country for the sale of Philip Morris (FM) IQOS smokeless devices. For now, only the electronic smokeless devices for one-time and multiple use VEEV, which the company launched on the Bulgarian market, will be accepted.
After analyzing the behavior of the users and the results of the processing of the components, it is possible at some subsequent stage that the company will start collecting electronic cigarettes from other manufacturers as well, commented to Mediapool Dilyana Yakova, Manager of Regulations at “Philip Morris Bulgaria”. At the moment, however, the focus is on taking responsibility for the proper collection of one’s own products.
In all of its retail outlets, the company has already placed special drop-off bins for its single-use VEEV vapes, as well as the containers of the devices, which are reusable. In addition to an information campaign about the possibilities of recycling these smokeless devices, the manufacturer will initially encourage users not to throw them in the general trash, but to return them, and for every container handed over for disposal, there will be a gift of two new ones.
In recent years, electronic cigarettes and especially disposable ones have entered Bulgaria very widely. However, they are not officially covered by any of the implemented separate waste collection systems. The reason is that they are a combination of plastic and battery and are not good to throw in either household waste containers or those for separate collection of plastic packaging, and are not accepted by e-waste systems. So vaping devices usually cause problems for separate collection organizations if they end up in some of their containers, and landfilling them is also a bad decision.
In order to solve these issues, Philip Morris will collect the e-cigarettes and refills they have put on the market, and they will take them from EcoSafe and in their center they will disassemble their usable components, separating the plastic, aluminum and battery . This is how 80 percent recyclability is achieved. The remaining waste will be burned in an incinerator of “EcoSafe” in Devnya and the final waste will be 1 percent of ash from the total amount, explained Stanislava Evtimova, executive director of the recycling company.
Demian Pintos, General Manager of “Philip Morris Bulgaria”, explained to Mediapool that it is particularly important that the fillers are utilized in the right way. He added that the materials extracted from the vaping devices will be reused in the making of new products and this is part of the company’s strategy for a sustainable business with responsibility towards the environment and society.
Non-reusable materials will be used for energy production.
Pintos also noted that the launch of the company’s new vaping products aims to accelerate our mission for a smoke-free future in Bulgaria, which began more than six years ago with the IQOS tobacco heating system.
Today, about 350,000 consumers in Bulgaria have switched completely to smokeless devices, and the launch of our IQOS Iluma device, which gives consumers more price alternatives, played a significant role in this,” he commented to Mediapool.
According to him, the company’s goal is that in the next two years the number of smokers in Bulgaria who have completely switched to FMI’s alternative smokeless products will reach 500 thousand, and by 2030 the number of users in our country of the less harmful products with nicotine to be 1 million. “The more opportunities to switch to smokeless products we offer, the better. The increase in competition in this sector also plays a positive role in the change, which we welcome,” added the manager of the Bulgarian division of the multinational company.
