Why recycle vapes?
12/22/2023, 9:12:56 AM 1365
We’re throwing away millions of vapes.
In the UK we buy 30 million single-use a month by adults aged 16+ – almost double compared to July 2022.
5 million single-use vapes a week binned
Single-use vapes are a big problem – we’re chucking away almost 8 every second. They might be called disposable but they should still be recycled.
There’s hidden treasure inside vapes
Vape kits contain lithium – also a vital component in electric car batteries. Recycling vapes would save almost 5,000 electric cars worth of lithium from being lost forever.
Piling on the problem of e-waste
Vapes are quickly becoming part of the fastest growing waste stream in the UK, where we bin over 155,000 tonnes of electrical waste a year.
How and why you should recycle your vapes!
Watch this video to discover the environmental impact of vapes and how they can be recycled. Never bin and always recycle your vapes safely.
5,000 electric vehicles
We lose 10 tonnes of lithium each year when ‘disposable’ single-use vapes are simply thrown away.
That lithium could make batteries for whole fleets of electric cars.
How to recycle vapes It’s as easy as ABC
ASK
Can you remove the battery from your vape kit? If so, take it out and recycle separately. Can’t remove the batteries? Add the whole vaping kit to your electrical recycling.
BAG THEM
Find a bag for all your old electrical bits and pieces until you can go to the recycling centre – or until collection day, if you have one. Put the electrical bit of your vape kit in the bag.
CHECK
Find your nearest recycling point. Enter your postcode in our recycling locator. And away you go.
Where can you recycle vapes?
With your recycling collection.
Some councils collect electrical devices for recycling either with your regular waste collection or by special arrangement.Contact your council or check their website.
At your local recycling centre.
All household easte and recycling centres have bins for electricals and batteries.If you can remove the battery,recycle it separately.If you can’t,recycle the whole vaping kit with your electrical recycling.
At recycling banks.
Some supermarkets,car parks and designated roadside areas have electrical recycling bins.