Disposable vapes were banned in the UK. Which in practise has meant that manufacturers have added the cheapest possible charging port which is non-standard so nobody can charge them and no way to open them to refill them.
https://www.standard.co.uk/lifestyle/disposable-vape-ban-loo...
Maybe they should start charging a deposit per vape, and make the manufacturers pay the cost of recycling or proper disposal.
I actually read the article you linked and these are clearly just shopkeepers breaking the law, lying about these being compliant. There is no legal loophole, except if you count a lack of enforcement as a loophole.
This is amazing, it reminds me of a biology article about a new life form that is not quite virus, not quite bacteria, but something that manages to blur the line between them.
Resource extraction eventually fills all niches, for better or for worse.