Bic starts recycling its disposable lighters, a first

Bic disposable lighters, known for their bright colours and their convenience, need no longer be a blight on the natural world. The manufacturer has said it intends to recycle its lighters at its plant in Redon. Here are the details.

A first in the smoking world

It was on 7 December that Bic caused a stir in the smoking world with a striking announcement. The company said it wanted to recycle its Bic disposable lighters at its plant in Redon, in Ille-et-Vilaine. If the project goes ahead, Bic would quite simply be the first company in the smoking world to take concrete action on environmental grounds.

The world leader in disposable lighters, Bic says it has developed a process for dismantling them with a view to recycling. On 7 December, a few journalists were able to enter the historic plant, which dates from 1971, to see the new machines dedicated to recycling.

All told, 5 million euros have been spent on building 7 machines for sorting, purging the gas, grinding, dismantling and reconditioning the lighters. Ultimately, 100% of the lighters will be recycled and 99.9% of the material collected will be reused.

The circular economy is no longer optional at Bic

Who has not already come across a Bic disposable lighter lying in a street, in a park or even on a beach? After studying the market for some fifteen years and working with a number of environmental NGOs, François Clément-Grandcourt, Bic’s chief executive, announced that the company would move towards the circular economy by recycling its lighters.

For the moment, the collection process has yet to be settled. The company is still weighing up 7 options, said to be under trial so that the most suitable can be chosen. Bic is firm on one point, however: the idea is to work in a near-closed loop, reusing spent materials to make new products broadly similar to the originals.