Programme agreement signed among Logista, FIT and MASE to recover millions of used devices

Rome, 13 September 2023

Logista Italia and Federazione Italiana Tabaccai (FIT) have signed a programme agreement with Ministero dell'Ambiente e della Sicurezza Energetica (MASE) to organise nationwide collection and take-back of spent electronic cigarettes and tobacco heater devices.

The organised collection circuit, set up by Logista and FIT, aims to increase the take-back of these small used electronic devices, free of charge and without the obligation for consumers to buy a new device (0:1 take-back scheme).

The purpose of the agreement is therefore to "pursue a higher level of environmental protection through more effective management of the take-back, collection, transport, r ecycling and preparation for re-use of waste electrical and electronic equipment from tobacco heaters, electronic cigarettes and their components".

Logista, which ensures the distribution of e-cigs and tobacco warming devices to more than 60,000 points of sale in Italy - with the support of Federazione Italiana Tabaccai - undertakes to place the containers for the collection of the aforementioned electronic waste in the tobacconists' shops and other points of sale that will join the initiative.

The collected waste will then be transported to special grouping sites set up by Logista, from where, thanks to the valuable support of Centro di Coordinamento RAEE (WEEE Coordination Centre), it will be sent to treatment plants. All collection and transport data will be processed and updated by Logista and communicated telematically to MASE to ensure full and complete traceability.

Logista and FIT, in accordance with MASE, will raise awareness among points of sale and consumers in order both to increase the quantity of electronic waste collected and to keep its characteristics unaltered so as to favour, after appropriate preparation, reuse and effective recycling.

To this end, Logista and FIT have prepared an information campaign to distinguish and let consumers identify the points of sale equipped with the appropriate containers for collecting used devices.

Federico Rella, Vice-President and Head of Corporate Affairs at Logista Italia, underlined: "We are proud to have conceived and implemented an initiative that will make a significant contribution to reducing environmental impact. The project is part of the sustainability policy that Logista has been pursuing for some time in all its activities, from the use of renewable energy sources in 99% of our operational locations, to the recycling and reuse of the cardboard boxes where goods are delivered every day. In addition, we have

started a transition that will lead to a transport fleet completely powered by renewable sources in the next five years. I would also like to thank the Ministry for its commitment, which has believed and worked with great dedication from the beginning on this project."

Mario Antonelli, National Chairman of FIT, in turn stated: "With this initiative, the category of tobacconists, with its territorial capillarity, confirms the role of shopkeepers as proximity operators for the benefit of citizens as providers of a series of useful services to local communities, and now also as indispensable collaborators in supporting the environmental protection and energy saving policies pursued by the government."

> Comunicato Stampa (IT)

> Press Release (ENG)