Supporting the Single Use Vape Ban: Strong Enforcement is Key
From 1 June this year it is now illegal for businesses to sell all single use or disposable vapes.
The ban has come into force following a long campaign due to the environmental and health impacts of single use vapes. Casepak has supported the campaign from the start, for health and environmental reasons but also because vapes are a hazard for waste and refuse collection, causing fires in bin lorries and in materials recycling facilities.
Single use vapes are specifically designed as one unit, so the batteries cannot be separated from the plastic. This makes them virtually impossible to recycle without going through special treatment.
Consumers have long been confused about how to dispose of single use vapes. Disposable vapes can be returned to the place of purchase, with shops required to offer a “take back” service where they accept vapes and vape parts that customers return for recycling. This includes single use vapes returned after the ban came into force. But, whether through ignorance or indifference, these vapes are primarily disposed of through household collection schemes, with the vapes appearing in both refuse and recycling streams.
Of the 13.5 million vapes bought each week in 2024, it is estimated that around 8.2 million vapes were thrown away or recycled incorrectly, causing litter on streets, and hazards in bin lorries and at waste treatment centres. The issue with the lithium batteries used inside the plastic vapes is that they can sharply increase in temperature if crushed and can become flammable, which in loads of other flammable materials causes some significant fires in waste and recycling facilities.
Not-for-profit organisation Material Focus has described vapes as “the fastest-growing and most dangerous waste stream in the UK”. It is estimated that over 40 tonnes of lithium batteries from disposable vapes were discarded in 2022 – enough to power 5,000 electric vehicles.
The number of battery fires has also increased by 71 per cent, going from 700 in 2022 to more than 1,200 in the last year, creating safety risks for waste management workers and local communities. In many of these cases, lithium batteries appear to be the primary culprits.
With the new ban in England, any business failing to comply with the new regulations faces a stop notice or a fine of £200 in the first instance, with all products seized by Trading Standards. For subsequent infractions there are unlimited fines or potential prosecution. From 1 June retailers must have removed all unsold single use vapes from sale, stored them securely off the shop floor or website, and arranged for their proper recycling. The guidance also reinforces the legal requirement for distributors to offer a “take back” scheme for used vape products, even after the ban comes into effect.
E-cigarettes, commonly referred to as vapes, were invented 22 years ago by a Chinese pharmacist. Initially marketed as a stop smoking aid, manufacturers soon realised the potential of the market when targeted at young people, with the subsequent rise in the range of sweet, fruit- flavoured vapes such as fizzy cherry and triple mango. The 13.5 million vapes purchased per week in 2024 was itself a 37 per cent increase on the previous year, demonstrating how the industry is booming.
The new ban should have a welcome impact on the amount of disposable vapes entering the waste stream, although manufacturers have already started producing vapes that technically fall outside of the legislation, but in essence are still disposable. It now falls on local authorities to ensure that the ban is enforced, and that vape producers register with a compliance scheme and meet their legal obligations around product take-back, reporting, and funding waste treatment.