Learn About Us
How EcoSig Started:
EcoSig® Australia was founded in September 2022 in Toowoomba, Queensland. By our CEO Harry Willingham (who you can follow on TikTok). As a lifelong engineer with a keen interest in waste management and recycling, Harry recognised an opportunity to address the growing e-waste problem caused by disposable single-use vapes.
With the popularity of vaping growing rapidly, it became clear that these devices were creating, and would continue to create a significant environmental challenge. Harry’s background in electronic engineering uniquely equipped him to tackle this issue, by combining technical expertise with a long-standing interest in recycling.
EcoSig, which was originally called Vaperocycle, began by providing free vape recycling bins to nightlife venues in Toowoomba, later expanding to Brisbane and the Gold Coast. Pubs, clubs, and bars were regularly collecting littered, confiscated, or abandoned vapes, but had no way to dispose of them other than the general waste bin.
We offered these venues a simple solution by giving them a free vape recycling bin to keep behind the bar, which became the backbone of our vape recycling network. This initiative ensured these devices could be safely collected, destroyed, and recycled, rather than ending up in rubbish bins, garbage compactors, and then eventually landfills.
The EcoSig initiative quickly gained traction, helping venues manage their waste responsibly while promoting sustainability. Today, while nightlife venues remain our primary demographic, we’ve expanded to collaborate with local governments, and private waste management organisations.
Our focus is on recycling the lithium-ion batteries, metals, and plastics found in vapes, by giving these materials a new life, and keeping them out of landfills. We're continuously innovating and developing more advanced machinery to optimise our recycling process, with the aim of collecting and recycling as many of these devices as possible.
EcoSig Australia was the first, and remains the most advanced vape recycling organisation in the country. We continue to lead the charge in creating sustainable solutions for this growing environmental issue. While ensuring that business owners and everyday Aussies have free, easy access to vape recycling bins.
If you want to find your nearest vape bin, learn more about our work, request a bin for your venue, or inquire about enterprise-scale vape recycling solutions. Feel free to reach out via our contact us page, or by heading over to our vape recycling page. Together, we can reduce vape waste, protect the environment, and support Australia’s growing e-waste management industry.
Our CasuallyLoaded® Powerbanks:
Collecting vapes is one thing, but actually putting their batteries to good use is another. While the metal and plastic can be recycled relatively easily, the still brand-new, rechargeable, lithium-ion batteries pose a unique challenge.
Our unique solution to that challenge is using them to produce a range of tough, lightweight, and versatile CasuallyLoaded® powerbanks. With the entire recycling, testing, and manufacturing process taking place locally, in the sunshine state of Queensland.
Every single CasuallyLoaded® powerbank we produce has only one goal: to provide the very best quality and price to anyone looking to buy a sustainable lithium-ion travel charger. Now these days, sustainability claims are everywhere, but unlike most brands that throw around "eco-friendly" as a buzzword, we can actually back it up.
Now on the surface vapes might seem like an unlikely and unreliable battery source, but they actually contain high-quality lithium-ion batteries, the same type used in smartphones, laptops, and electric vehicles. These batteries are small, lightweight, powerful, and most importantly, fully rechargeable, making them the perfect power source for our powerbanks.
Vape batteries are made in industrial factories to the same standard as any other battery, but then, they are fully charged and sealed away inside a disposable vape. Which is used until its battery is out of charge and then thrown away.
However, that lithium-ion battery, safely locked away inside the vape, being used just once and then discarded, is still pretty much brand new, with on average over 3000 more charges left in its lifespan.
Essentially the best comparison we can make is that the way people treat these vapes would be like if someone bought a brand new fully charged smartphone, used it until its battery went flat and instead of recharging it, just threw it away and bought a new one.
Of course, vapes and smartphones are entirely different devices, but under the hood their batteries are the exact same. Again, you may still be sceptical about the quality and reliability of these batteries, but don’t worry, we’re not just blindly repurposing them.
Each battery we recover is individually and meticulously cleaned, it then undergoes a thorough series of quality and safety tests to ensure it's still in the same condition as when it was manufactured, often only a few months prior.
These tests include a visual damage inspection, which we now use AI and machine vision to assist with. We then use a custom-made computer system to test the electrical characteristics of each battery, including its: voltage, power output, internal resistance, operating temperature, electric capacity, and ability to hold a charge for extended periods of time.
To meet our high standards for performance and safety, each battery must pass each of these tests twice, once as an individual battery and then again once connected with other batteries and installed within one of our powerbanks.
If for any reason a battery by itself or within one of our powerbanks fails any of these tests, it will not be used. Instead, we will safely shred it and use a chemical recycling process to sustainably extract the pure lithium, nickel, cobalt, manganese, aluminium, copper, graphite and everything else that it contains.
Our method stops a huge amount of brand-new lithium-ion batteries and other vape-related waste from being buried in landfills, while also directly repurposing the batteries into a device able to take full advantage of their rechargeable, long-life nature.
While other brands rely on freshly mined materials and third-party manufacturers to create their powerbanks, we believe in giving these perfectly good batteries a second life, right here in Queensland.
This means every CasuallyLoaded® powerbank we make, is a testament to our commitment to sustainability and our drive to bring manufacturing jobs back into Australia. By choosing our products, you’re not just getting a cost-effective, dependable source of portable power, you’re supporting a cleaner, greener, Australian-made future.
We’re proud of the work our small team does and would love to answer any questions you may have, so if you'd like to know more contact us. Alternatively, if you’re eager to take a look at the end product, head over to our CasuallyLoaded® powerbanks page.
Our Vape Recycling Bins:
EcoSig bins are manufactured in Queensland out of durable 3D printed plastic. Their design draws inspiration from reusable sharps containers, as they're fully sealed with a one way input slot, so once a vape goes in, it can’t be taken out. They're also modular so when one fills up collection is as easy as swapping the full bin out for an empty one.
Getting a bin for your venue, the collections, bin maintenance, and participation overall is 100% free for all nightlife venues and other small privately owned businesses. Our bins are designed to fit easily behind any bar, or on any backroom shelf. They measure 30CM across, 15CM wide and 21CM tall, weigh just over 1KG when empty and can hold between 30 and 50 vapes depending on said vapes size.
If you would like to get a bin for your venue, learn more about how participation works, discuss enterprise vape recycling solutions for larger waste management organisations, or if you have any other questions. Head over to our vape recycling page and press the participate button, or email: serviceteam@ecosig.org.
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