J&B News & Updates

14.05.25

Single-Use Vapes to Be Banned in the UK: What It Means for Waste and Recycling

From 1 June 2025, the sale and supply of single-use disposable vapes will be banned across the UK. This legislation, which applies to England, Scotland, Wales, and Northern Ireland, aims to address several escalating concerns – including the sharp rise in youth vaping, increasing fire risks linked to improper disposal, and the environmental harm caused by single-use vape waste.

An estimated 8.2 million disposable vapes are discarded every week in the UK. Many of these end up in landfill or contaminate recycling loads. Because they contain lithium-ion batteries, they also present a serious fire risk in bins, collection vehicles and at Material Recovery Facilities (MRFs) like ours at J&B Recycling.

We process thousands of vapes each year through local authority and commercial waste collections. Though they may appear harmless, single-use vapes are a growing issue in the waste stream.

Why Are Disposable Vapes So Problematic?

By design, single-use vapes are a highly inefficient use of materials. Each device contains a mix of plastic, metal, circuitry and a lithium-ion battery – all sealed into a product intended to be thrown away after just a few hundred puffs. While some components are technically recyclable, the complex construction makes safe dismantling and recovery extremely difficult.

The result is a short-life product that creates a disproportionately high amount of electronic waste (e-waste) with very little chance of responsible recovery.

A Growing Fire Hazard

Lithium-ion batteries are a well-known hazard in the waste and recycling industry. If crushed, punctured or overheated, they can ignite without warning. Inside a vape, the battery is often small and hidden, making it easy to miss during sorting and processing.

At J&B Recycling, we’ve experienced first-hand the risks these items pose at our facilities. Fires caused by damaged batteries are on the rise across the sector – endangering staff, damaging equipment and disrupting operations.

Environmental Impact Beyond the Fire Risk

Beyond the batteries, the rest of the device also poses environmental challenges. Vape pods and cartridges are made of plastic that doesn’t degrade easily. Improper disposal can lead to the release of residual nicotine and other chemicals, which are harmful to wildlife and soil and water systems.

While often marketed as a cleaner alternative to cigarettes, single-use vapes carry their own significant environmental cost.

Why the Ban Matters to the Recycling Industry

From an MRF perspective, the removal of disposable vapes from the waste stream is a welcome step. These items are not only hazardous – they’re also incredibly disruptive. Vapes are difficult to detect, almost impossible to dismantle safely at scale, and frequently contaminate otherwise recyclable materials.

Their presence in the waste stream adds complexity, cost, and risk. Banning them improves the quality of incoming material, reduces fire hazards, and supports safer, more efficient operations.

Black Market Risks and Accountability Challenges

While the ban is a welcome move, it won’t immediately eliminate the challenges single-use vapes pose to the waste industry - and in some areas, it may even exacerbate them.

There is already a well-established black market for disposable vapes in the UK. Post-ban, this underground supply chain is likely to grow, with illegal and unregulated products continuing to enter circulation. These vapes often lack basic safety standards, may contain unknown or hazardous substances, and are less likely to be disposed of responsibly.

From a waste management perspective, this raises serious questions about accountability and enforcement. Who will monitor or police the illicit supply and improper disposal of these banned products? With no regulated route to collect or recycle them, black market vapes are likely to be discarded through general waste or mixed recycling streams - increasing the risk to Energy from Waste (EfW) facilities, MRFs and reprocessors alike.

This leads to further complications. If these items continue to appear in the waste stream, who will bear the cost of managing them? Sorting, separating, and safely handling these products places a burden on waste processors who aren’t responsible for placing them on the market in the first place. Should the responsibility fall on MRFs to detect and safely manage potentially dangerous, illegally sold items? There is currently no clear answer - and no funding mechanism to support this work.

Until tighter controls are in place and a widespread shift in consumer behaviour occurs, MRFs like ours will remain on the frontline - dealing with the consequences of improper disposal, illegal supply chains, and products designed without end-of-life considerations.

A Step Towards Simpler, Safer Recycling

The ban on disposable vapes aligns with the UK government’s wider Simpler Recycling reforms, which aim to create more consistent, clear, and effective recycling systems. Removing complex, dangerous items from circulation helps improve safety and material quality at all stages of the waste journey.

What You Can Do Until the Ban

While the ban doesn’t take effect until June, proper disposal is critical in the meantime:

• Don’t put vapes in your household bin or recycling container
• Take them to your local Household Waste Recycling Centre (HWRC) – most now accept small electricals
• If safe to do so, remove the battery and recycle it separately at a designated battery collection point
• Look for community vape recycling schemes in shops or public spaces
• Read our full guide: J&B Recycling - Can Vapes Be Recycled?

Every vape kept out of the general waste stream helps reduce fire risk, protect recycling infrastructure, and limit avoidable environmental harm.

At J&B Recycling, we fully support the upcoming ban and remain committed to building a safer, more sustainable waste system for everyone.