What are vapes and why are they a problem?

Designed for convenient, handheld use, disposable vapes are single-use devices, often available in a variety of appealing colours, shapes, and flavours. To provide a nicotine hit without at least some of the harmful effects of burning tobacco, vapes work by heating a nicotine e-liquid to create a mist that can be inhaled.

That means inside each single-use plastic device is a chamber filled with a nicotine infused e-liquid, a heating coil, and most detrimental from an environmental perspective, a lithium battery.

Growing popularity of these disposable vapes has led to a corresponding global increase in e-cigarette waste. In Ireland alone, for example, €85 million was spent by local authorities last year on street cleaning, with cigarette butts and vapes accounting for half of all litter.

It’s a worrying trend as, like all electronic and electrical equipment (EEE), disposable vapes should be discarded appropriately due to the nature of the technology inside.

According to the Bureau of Investigative Journalism, each device contains around 0.15 grams of lithium, a metal classified as a critical raw material by the EU and US. Looking at UK statistics, the annual sale of 138 million single-use vapes equates to enough lithium for around 1,200 electric vehicle batteries. Yet most of this lithium is currently dumped or incinerated, necessitating the extraction of still more virgin lithium.

With Friends of the Earth reporting just how harmful lithium mining is to our planet, damaging the soil, air, and water of vulnerable developing countries, it’s worth taking a moment to assess the scale of this damage.

Producer responsibility – design for re-use or recycle

With mounting environmental concerns around disposable vapes, perhaps the time is overdue for an Extended Producer Responsibility (EPR) model that visits the true environmental costs on both producers and consumers?

In an ideal world, this environmental levy would oblige producers to manufacture a more environmentally responsible device that could be re-used, or failing that, recycled. This would involve charging consumers a deposit or refundable charge in order to promote recycling.

In addition to these measures, it’s important to think about how retailers and manufacturers can provide accessible recycling facilities and clear instructions for disposal. In this way, regulations to promote responsible disposal and minimize negative environmental effects could make a noticeable difference.

The dangers of incorrect battery waste disposal

In addition to reducing vape litter, an EPR scheme would also reduce the risks that lithium batteries present to waste and recycling centres when disposed of incorrectly.

In fact, binned batteries pose severe safety hazards for waste and recycling centres with potential dangers including fires, explosions, and toxic fumes. According to the Environmental Services Association, lithium-ion batteries are responsible for around 48% of all waste fires in the UK each year, costing some £158 million per year to waste operators, fire services and the environment. This makes it crucial to dispose of e-cigarettes as electronic waste in order to minimize their environmental impact and prevent safety risks.

Technology provides some hope here with new ways to reliably prevent such fires. Innovative additions to existing technologies such as AMCS Vision AI could be used to detect lithium batteries that have been erroneously placed in general recycling or dumped in general waste. With software to automatically identify e-cigarettes during waste processing, facilities will have vital means to separate them for appropriate treatment.

All of which is good news for waste management and recycling facilities. A recent EPA report examining mixed recycling facilities, landfills, transfer stations, trucks, and electronic recycling facilities, reveals that lithium battery fires are causing havoc across the full waste spectrum with MRFs facing the brunt of the impact.

Not only is this a real risk to staff safety, but it is also putting substantial financial pressure on municipal recycling facilities.

Worryingly, the EPA report also highlights that MRFs are now finding it increasingly difficult to get insurance, with many providers leaving the market due to high risk factors. Naturally, this also has a knock on effect for customers, who may have to pick up the financial strain.

As these findings highlight, incorrect battery waste disposal carries steep costs and stark safety risks, in addition to harming the environment since lithium batteries also contain toxic chemicals such as lead, cobalt, and other substances that can leach into the soil and water and harm wildlife.

Together, these risks mean any measures to encourage the recycling of e-cigarettes and appropriate disposal of associated batteries will have a positive impact on the environment and pave the way for a more circular economy.

Counting the true cost of vapes

Although single use vapes are presented as a pathway to drop a smoking habit, and this is no doubt a laudable aim, it would be remiss to overlook the full environmental cost of e-cigarettes. From lithium mining in South America, to widespread waste on our streets, and an increased risk of fire at waste and recycling centres across the globe, the costs are high.

Regulation is urgently required as a result, to reduce consumption, but also to ensure the costs described above fall more fairly on both producers and consumers alike. As always in the quest towards circular living, prevention and reduction will always be more effective than recycling and in the case of vapes, it would surely produce a healthier outcome for all.