When the UK banned the sale and supply of single-use vapes in June 2025, it marked an important step in tackling one of the country's fastest-growing waste problems. But more than a year later, the challenge of what happens to millions of used and unwanted vapes has certainly not disappeared.
Latest research from Material Focus suggests that more than 6.3 million vapes and pods are still thrown away or incorrectly recycled every week in the UK and over the past four years, it estimates that 1.18 billion vapes have been thrown away.
For businesses selling, collecting or dealing with these products, that should be a reminder that the conversation needs to extend beyond the ban itself. How vapes are stored, collected and ultimately dealt with remains an important waste management issue.
Why are vapes such a problem?
Despite being small enough to fit in your pocket, vapes contain a complex combination of materials. As an electrical item, they can contain lithium-ion batteries, plastics, metals and residual liquids and chemicals and therefore should never be thrown into general waste or mixed recycling.
One of the most serious consequences of incorrect disposal is fire.
When lithium-ion batteries enter general waste or mixed recycling streams, they can become damaged or crushed during collection and processing. This can cause them to ignite, potentially resulting in fires in collection vehicles and waste facilities.
The scale of the issue is significant with more than 1,200 UK fires a year caused by electrical items containing batteries, which include vapes.
There is also a significant loss of resources when vapes are disposed of incorrectly as the lithium within them could be used in other ways, such as powering electric vehicle batteries for example.
What did the disposable vape ban set out to achieve?
Since 1 June 2025, it has been illegal for UK businesses to sell or supply single-use vapes, regardless of whether or not they contain nicotine, but there is concern that significant numbers of single-use devices remain in circulation despite this ban.
The reusable and rechargeable vapes that are now sold eventually become waste too and many consumers are still unaware that vapes can and should be recycled.
The ban, therefore, shouldn't be mistaken for the end of the vape waste problem.
Businesses have responsibilities too
Vapes are classed as electrical items and fall within the UK's Waste Electrical and Electronic Equipment (WEEE) regulations.
Government guidance states that businesses selling vapes must provide a take-back service, accepting used vapes and components such as pods, coils and batteries for recycling. This includes single-use vapes returned by customers following the ban.
Businesses with old stocks of now-banned single-use vapes also cannot simply put them into their general waste. Government guidance requires leftover stock to be separated from other goods, labelled as unsellable and stored away from the shop floor until it can be collected by an appropriate waste service.
For retailers and other organisations handling significant quantities of vapes, having a clear process for segregation, storage, collection and onward treatment should therefore form part of their wider waste management procedures.
What happens to vapes handled by Cawleys?
At Cawleys, vape waste accepted through our specialist service is carefully managed rather than simply entering a general waste stream. Vapes are initially hand sorted, allowing unwanted or non-vape items to be identified and removed. Where packaged vapes are received, they are unpacked and separated from associated card, paper and plastic packaging.
The vapes themselves are then bulked and packaged into UN-approved drums, before being sent for specialist treatment via high-temperature incineration. This controlled process reflects a wider principle that applies to many difficult waste streams: seemingly small everyday products can require specialist handling once they become waste.
A small item with a much bigger waste impact
The UK's move away from single-use vapes was an important intervention, but it hasn't removed millions of devices already in circulation or the need to deal responsibly with rechargeable products when they reach the end of their useful life.
In fact, the changing market arguably makes education even more important.
Businesses need to know what they are accepting, how it should be stored and segregated and where it ultimately goes. Consumers need clearer information about why vapes should never be put into an ordinary bin. And organisations dealing with large quantities need appropriate procedures and specialist support in place.
With millions of battery-powered vapes still being discarded every week, getting disposal right isn’t a small issue, it’s essential for protecting people, facilities and the wider waste stream.
Cawleys works with organisations across a range of sectors to provide safe, compliant solutions for specialist and hazardous waste streams. To discuss vape disposal requirements or review how your organisation manages hazardous waste, contact the Cawleys team today!
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The UK banned the sale and supply of single-use vapes in June 2025
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Latest research from Material Focus suggests that more than 6.3 million vapes and pods are still thrown away or incorrectly recycled every week in the UK and over the past four years, it estimates that 1.18 billion vapes have been thrown away.
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Item descriptiDespite being small enough to fit in your pocket, vapes contain a complex combination of materials. As an electrical item, they can contain lithium-ion batteries, plastics, metals and residual liquids and chemicals and therefore should never be thrown into general waste or mixed recycling
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Item descriptioAt Cawleys, vape waste accepted through our specialist service is carefully managed rather than simply entering a general waste stream.
Vapes are initially hand sorted, allowing unwanted or non-vape items to be identified and removed.
Where packaged vapes are received, they are unpacked and separated from associated card, paper and plastic packaging.
The vapes themselves are then bulked and packaged into UN-approved drums, before being sent for specialist treatment via high-temperature incineration.