Shares in Supreme PLC (AIM:SUP), a major distributor of disposable vapes, continued to fall on Friday, down 11% to 113p over the week, as research showed the level of waste associated with the single-use vaping kits and growing calls for a ban.
The five million vape kits discarded every week contain enough lithium metal to create 5,000 electric car batteries a year, according to research from not-for-profit organisation Material Focus, with the number surging fourfold compared to a year ago.
Supreme in the past year doubled revenues from its vaping arm to £76 million and recently won a contract to be the master distributor of top-selling vape brands ElfBar and Lost Mary to Tesco, Morrisons, One Stop and WHSmith.
Following calls for a ban on disposable vapes from local councils and doctors, a new petition for a parliamentary debate has been launched by Greenpeace.
Material Focus director Scott Butler said single-use vapes are “a strong contender for being the most environmentally wasteful, damaging and dangerous consumer product ever made”.
With the potential cost of collecting and recycling vapes of £200 million, Material Focus said this should be paid for by vape producers, importers and retailers.