More than 6m vapes and vape pods are being thrown away every week in the UK, and waste management companies are warning that many are still going through the recycling process despite a ban on discarded e-cigarettes.
According to research by recycling campaign group Material Focus, the 6.3m vapes and pods thrown away every week by 2025 represents a 23% reduction from last year.
This suggests that the ban on the sale of single-use pumps that came into force on 1 June 2025 had an impact on waste levels, with a 31% reduction in the number of pumps purchased each week.
However, the amount of waste still causes problems. Waste management company Veolia told Material Focus that it has one fire a day across its fleet and facilities, possibly due to hidden lithium-ion batteries, while Biffa reports receiving more than 200,000 unrecycled vapes by mistake in its mixed collections every month.
More than 1bn vapes have been discarded in the past four years, Material Focus has found. Its survey, conducted by Opinium, also showed that almost half of vapers (47%) did not know that their devices can be recycled.
A sample of 1,000 people over the age of 16 who purchased a vape as of June 1, 2025 participated in the survey. The results were averaged to represent the UK population.
Scott Butler, chief executive of Material Focus, said the “vapocalypse is underway” as battery fires rise in the UK. He said that the tobacco and vapes bill that is going through parliament is an opportunity for change and he suggested that licensing of vape sellers should mandate that the goods be used in the shop.
“It should be as easy to vape as easy to buy,” Butler said. “It is a long-term legal obligation for all shops that make a profit from selling them to provide safe recycling facilities and cover the costs of doing so. Vape manufacturers and importers must cover the costs of recycling.”
Because vapes are powered by lithium-ion batteries, improperly packaged devices that break or break can cause dangerous fires in trucks and recycling centers.
There is no specific data collection for lithium battery fires in England and Wales. In Scotland, according to the latest release of information from the Scottish fire and rescue service, there were 69 fires related to lithium batteries in 2025, compared to 20 in 2019, last year’s figures include 10 house fires, two in hospitals and three in prisons. According to data going back to 2009, there have been no related murders in Scotland.
The incorrect disposal of these batteries, which should not be thrown away in the normal bin but can be recycled in special bins in many supermarkets, has caused serious fires in bin lorries and factories across the UK, whose costs are estimated to exceed £1bn each year, as well as causing injuries to workers.
These events have also caused local spikes in air pollution that have exceeded World Health Organization limits, posing health risks to nearby communities.
Although the single-use ban has shifted the market to renewables, an estimated 2.2m single-use vapes are still being bought every week, research has found.
The sale of conventional renewable vapes has also fallen by 28%, falling from 6.3m a week in 2024 to 4.5m last year. This drop is likely to be offset by the increasing popularity of the high-capacity puffer, which delivers several thousand puffs compared to the older 600-puff models, as well as the wider availability of refill pods.
Material Focus wants a comprehensive, widely accessible solution, accompanied by a massive public awareness campaign. The group is recommending clearer instructions on vape packaging and visible retail collection areas, arguing that this should be a core requirement of any proposed retail licensing system.
A spokesperson for the Department for Environment, Food and Home Affairs said: “Single-use vapes are exposing children to nicotine and damaging our high streets – that’s why we’ve taken action to ban them.
Fraudsters will face heavy penalties.
“We’re committed to more vapes being recycled, and we’re mandating that all vape sellers offer reusable containers.”
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