A bill drafted by two Illinois high school students would require producers of electronic smoking devices like vapes to manage the disposal of the devices through stewardship programs.
The programs would collect used smoking devices and recycle or safely dispose of the parts. Producers can either establish their own stewardship program or, with other producers, form a statewide producer responsibility organization (PRO) to establish a group program.
Producers would also be required to finance the programs and inform consumers of their disposal options.
Andrew Diaz and Allison Hovaniec, students at Pontiac High School in central Illinois, worked with Rep. Kelly Cassidy, D-Chicago, and the Illinois Environmental Council to draft and introduce the bill.
The students came up with the idea through an assignment in a government class.
“As we kind of realized that it's a widespread problem and that there are vapes all over the environment, we ended up deciding that we wanted to kind of make this a legislation,” Hovaniec said, emphasizing the longevity of the bill if it is passed into law. “It's not just something that will just kind of go away after a while.”
Meeting a need
Electronic smoking devices, also known as e-cigarettes or vapes, pose environmental and public health risks due to the batteries, metals, plastics and hazardous substances such as nicotine in them, said Jen Walling, CEO of the IEC, a Springfield-based organization that represents environmental groups and nonprofits.
As they are not recyclable due to the materials, most devices end up in landfills. Because of their growing popularity and single-use nature, they are an increasing concern among environmental activists.
The stewardship programs proposed in the bill would operate similarly to other waste disposal initiatives, like those for electronics. The goal is to provide an incentive for consumers and producers to care about the disposal of the devices, Walling said.
“I just think that there are consumers that care about this, and there will be efforts by the industry to try to meet certain goals where they need to collect these, so they're going to go out of their way to try and get more,” Walling said. “That might mean different education or different incentives that they offer consumers, or you know, maybe just putting it in convenient places for people to be able to dispose of them.”
The bill provides no enforcement provisions.
Brand owners, as the primary owners and manufacturers of the devices, would be required to establish a program or to join a PRO within two years of the bill’s effective date.
If the brand owner cannot be identified or isn’t subject to state jurisdiction, the responsibility falls to the importer, then the distributor, then the seller.
The programs must be financed by the producers or PROs and are subject to approval by the Illinois Environmental Protection Agency. Producers out of compliance could be subject to a civil penalty of up to $10,000.
Bill development
Diaz and Hovaniec settled on their idea after they were tasked with creating a project that would impact their community. Through discussions with their parents and teacher Paul Ritter, they decided to draft a piece of legislation about vape disposal.
The pair first reached out to Cassidy in the fall, who directed them to work with the IEC on drafting the bill.
“I'm concerned about a lot of different impacts of vaping, to be perfectly honest with you,” Cassidy said. “These batteries are just getting thrown into the garbage. ... There's a lot of reasons to want to control these products.”
Vaping devices like these would need to be properly disposed under a bill filed in the legislature. (Photo by Nasibli/Adobe Stock) For Cassidy, working with the students on an issue she is already concerned about was a “no brainer,” she said.
“We definitely want (legislators) to know it's something that the youth does care about. It's something that we want to change,” Hovaniec said. “We talk about it a lot, I know, especially like when you become seniors and when we go into college, like vapes are such a widely talked about concept, and representatives and senators don't really know that.”
The pair said they are deeply motivated to accomplish their goal.
“It's definitely something that taught us that we need to, like, think about what we're doing and put intent in everything we're doing,” Hovaniec said. “Everything you put into something you most likely will get out and I feel like the experience, it's kind of just, it's life changing, honestly.”
Cassidy filed the bill Jan. 29. It was referred to committee on Feb. 2 and is awaiting a hearing.
“It truly is a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity in this class,” Diaz said. “It really is an eye-opening experience, because you will learn more about the government in this class than you ever will in civics.”
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