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Vapes

Even though they are called 'Disposable vapes', they are problematic when disposed of in bins at home, causing fires in collection trucks and at sorting facilities and this is, unfortunately a problem local authorities are faced with nationally. Every week in the UK 8.2 million vapes are discarded incorrectly every week, meaning every 13 seconds vapes are being thrown away. 

Vapes have batteries inside of them, therefore similar to batteries should never go in the bin at home. The number of fires caused by batteries being disposed of in bins at home has increased from 700 in 2022 to over 1,200 within the last year. A huge number of these are vape related and it is having a costly effect on local authorities and posing many risks to kerbside collection crews. 

But how can a vape cause a fire in a kerbside collection truck? When bins are emptied into the truck, a mechanical hand crushes the waste against the back wall inside the truck. When crushed, the batteries can become highly flammable. The waste company Veolia have said they deal with a fire everyday that is battery related at their recycling facilities. 

When a fire does occur in a lorry the crew need to empty the contents of the lorry on to the public pavement, you can imagine the many issues this will cause for the crew and to the public and is something we want our crews to stop having to do.

In 2022, 40 tonnes of lithium from single-use vapes were discarded, the batteries that power vapes are lithium-ion batteries and this can be a vital source recovered during the recycling process. The amount lost due to poor disposal meant the amount of lithium that could have recovered, could have powered 10,127 electric cars. When disposed of correctly, the breakdown process is very long however, the duration of which the vape is broken down is outweighed by the decrease in fires and health risks from poor disposal. 

Before disposing your vape help us by checking your ABC's:

  • A: Ask can you remove the battery from your vape?
  • B: Bag them up and pop them on top of your bin when you take your bin out for collection. 
  • C: Check for your nearest recycling centre. 

Within Buckinghamshire you can place small electrical items, (vapes included) in a clear plastic bag and place the bag on top of your bin and the kerbside collection crews will take these and put them in the lorry separately. If your bag hasn't been collected, the bin lorries have a safe space designated for small electrical's so if your bag hasn't been collected this may be because they have used all the space already on your collection round

Alternatively you can drop vapes off at your local recycling centre. Some supermarkets have vape bins where customers can dispose of their used or unwanted vapes, most bins in supermarkets look like this. 

Several supermarkets offering the disposal service are: Tesco, Sainsbury's, ASDA and the Co-op.

When taken back to the retailer, disposed of at recycling centres or put in designated bins in retail shops, what happens to them? They are transported to the recycling facility where they are dismantled and sorted into their separate components. 

Veolia and Biffa have national vape recycling schemes and more information can be found by clicking on each name. 

Our Waste Prevention Apprentice has written an article on incorrect disposal of vapes and the impact this is having on local authorities, to read the article click here.