As manufacturers and retailers of premium e-liquids and vaping devices, our operations are extensive and come with their fair share of environmental impacts. We recognise our responsibility as the UK’s number one vaping brand to set the standard for our industry when it comes to being environmentally conscious.
As such, we have taken several steps towards reducing our ecological footprint, and we keep this goal at the forefront of our decision making. The harder we work to make our industry sustainable, the brighter the future of vaping will be for us and our customers.
Read on and find out more about the actions we have taken towards our goal of improving sustainability.
Reducing Energy Consumption & Increasing Efficiency
Our headquarters include both office space and significant production and warehousing operations, covers 60,000 square feet. As such, it was vital for us to ensure that we do as much as possible to reduce our consumption of energy to keep things running in the most efficient way possible.
LED Lighting Conversion
Throughout the entire business we have converted all lighting to LED and installed motion detectors to reduce energy consumption, maximise operating efficiency and avoid unnecessarily lighting uninhabited areas.
Efficient Heating Systems
Production and warehousing make up the largest open spaces in our operations which are naturally difficult to heat efficiently. To combat this we have installed storage heaters to improve our heating efficiency during colder months.
Additionally, destratification fans are utilised alongside heat exchangers. They can reverse their rotational direction to push or pull hot and cold air between the factory and the outside depending on which is most extreme. Effectively regulating our building’s temperature without consuming gas.
Recycling
As a manufacturing facility we produce a significant amount of waste, even while operating at maximum efficiency, as such it has been a vital exercise to ensure we are doing everything we can to reduce, reuse and recycle as much of this waste as possible.
Traditional Recyclables
Much like your waste at home, EDGE separates and recycles all of our aluminium and metallic waste, cardboard and paper, with special bins provided throughout our offices and warehousing.
Alongside this we also collect all waste shrink-wrap and recyclable plastics which are then bundled using special machinery much like our cardboard, ready for collection and recycling.
We maintain an open door policy for all our neighbouring businesses here at our Manchester HQ, inviting them to bring us their recyclable waste as regularly as possible to be sent alongside our own for proper processing This helps smaller businesses to be greener without burdening them with the costs.
Waste Wood
In a unique partnership, we regularly donate our waste wood and broken pallets to a local allotment scheme.
While of course some of the wood is used for repairs and agricultural projects, we are also proud to have contributed the materials used to build a playscape for goats!
Intermediate Bulk Containers (IBCs)
Our bulk PG, VG and nicotine are all delivered and stored in large 1000 litre containers known commonly as IBCs. As they have contained chemicals, are made of mixed materials and are very large in size, they can be difficult to dispose of.
We have partnered with a local authority which collects and correctly processes all our waste IBCs to be used once again or repurposed for other functions.
Non-Recyclable Waste
While we strive to ensure we use as many recyclable materials as possible, some non-recyclable waste is unavoidable. Despite this, we have taken steps to ensure we process it in the safest way possible to minimise its impact on the environment.
Batteries
As we handle a variety of vaping devices, we generate a moderate amount of waste electronics which we ensure are collected into specialised containers to be taken away and safely processed in accordance with WEEE regulations.
Chemical Waste
As e-liquid manufacturers we produce varying amounts of chemical waste which typically includes line flushings from bottling machinery, nicotine and flavouring. This is processed via a specialised trade effluent drainage system which is carefully monitored and audited by the appropriate official authorities.
