How Bad Is Vaping for the Environment?

Tobacco smoking has been popular for more than four centuries. People used to smoke everywhere — on planes, in public transport, in hospitals — you name it. Cigars were once a sign of wealth; later, smoking became associated with financial troubles and social decline. For young people, it was a way to rebel. Cinema romanticised smoking, portraying it as cool and glamorous. 

“Vaping,” by contrast, is a relatively recent term, emerging in the 1980s and gaining widespread use only over the past decade. With over 100 million vapers around the world today, including at least 15 million children, questions have arisen about how harmful it actually is — not only for our health, but also for the environment. However, because vaping is still a relatively new phenomenon, research on its long-term effects remains limited.

Alarming statistics on disposable vape waste

In the UK, more than 67 million vapes are discarded every year. Recent surveys show that only 15% of UK consumers throw away vapes in designated recycling bins; the remaining 85% discard them in general waste bins, which often leads to fires in bins and recycling centers due to the lithium batteries inside disposable vapes.

According to research by Material Focus, a UK non-profit aiming to “stop the valuable, critical and finite materials inside electricals from going to waste,” more than 1,200 fires were recorded in the UK waste stream in 2024 alone — many linked to discarded vape batteries — representing a 71% increase in battery-related fires compared with 2022.

All this lithium from disposable vapes that is discarded every year without recycling is equivalent to 5,000 electric vehicle batteries. This is a significant loss of a critical raw material that could be repurposed in renewable energy technologies and batteries. Over three-quarters of vape users said that they would be more likely to recycle if the vapes were labelled as “recyclable,” which indicates the need for more awareness and more accessible recycling options.

The United States shows similar trends. As of July 2025, nearly 500,000 disposable vapes are discarded every day, generating 30 tons of lithium waste annually.

Plastic, hazardous, and electronic waste from vaping

Disposable vapes are difficult — but not impossible — to recycle. The complexity of the recycling process stems from the presence of e-liquid, some of which remains inside the vape even after it is “finished.” The e-liquid is classified as hazardous waste, which requires careful disposal to prevent environmental contamination. Other components of disposable vapes include plastic, a lithium battery, and metal such as the coil and internal wiring, all of which further complicate recycling.

As a result, disposable vapes also generate plastic and electronic waste. When discarded improperly, plastic waste persists because it doesn’t biodegrade. Over time, microplastics enter soil, water, and air and can now be found in human brains, lungs, blood, and even placentas of unborn babies. In addition to causing fires in bins, recycling centers, and landfills, lithium-ion batteries in vapes can also leach heavy metals and battery acid into the environment.

Vapes contribute to the global e-waste problem, much of which is shipped from Western countries to developing countries, shifting environmental and health risks to regions often least able to address and mitigate them. According to UNITAR, 62 million tonnes of e-waste were generated globally in 2022. The numbers are expected to rise to 82 million tonnes by 2030. Approximately 3.3 million tonnes were shipped from high-income to middle- and low-income countries through uncontrolled, undocumented movements.

A third of all e-waste consisted of small devices, including e-cigarettes. According to the Observatory of Economic Complexity, the top exporters in 2023 were the US, the Netherlands, and Germany, while the top importers were Japan, Mexico, and India.

Greenwashing, production, and pollution in the vaping industry

The disposal of single-use vapes is a significant issue, and it is a responsibility that falls on both manufacturers and consumers. Sadly enough, some of the vape companies are guilty of greenwashing campaigns, which led people to believe that single-use vapes were “green” and “eco-friendly.” The campaign, led by the brand Elf Bar, gave consumers the impression that it was easy to recycle vapes at home, which is not true.

The Advertising Standards Authority (ASA) ruled that the company had to take down the misleading advertisements, and the Elf Bar respected this decision, acknowledging its mistake. Unfortunately, even without the greenwashing campaigns, people tend to discard their single-use vapes in any trash bin they find.

Another problem is the production of e-cigarettes. The widespread use of disposable vapes increases demand for tobacco crops, potentially altering land use and driving transport emissions. The manufacturing of e-cigarettes also generates greenhouse gas emissions, which leads to increased pollution and, in turn, contributes to climate change.

Vapes also pose health and environmental risks during use: the vapours are potent sources of air pollution, such as aldehydes, carbon monoxide, particulate matter (PM), VOCs, heavy metals, and nicotine. Compared to smoke from conventional cigarettes, the amount of PM and heavy metal emissions from e-cigarette vapour was found to be similar or greater.

National responses to vape pollution

Although the research is ongoing, the ill consequences of vaping — particularly the improper disposal of the devices — are already evident. Vapes generate multiple types of waste: plastic (from the vaping device), chemical (nicotine and other toxic chemicals in the e-liquid), and electronic (batteries and metals). To address this challenge, several countries have introduced full bans on disposable vapes, including India, Thailand, Singapore, Nepal, Bhutan, Brazil, Argentina, Uruguay, Venezuela, Mexico, Qatar, Oman, and Iran. Belgium was the first EU country to ban disposable vapes, followed by France and the UK. 

While more research is needed, banning disposable vapes is a step in the right direction, helping to mitigate their environmental and health impacts.

Editor’s Note: The opinions expressed here by the authors are their own, not those of impakter.com — Cover Photo Credit: Romain B.