Vapes and digital cigarettes (e-cigarettes) got here out as a safer strategy to take pleasure in tobacco merchandise. As a substitute of lighting up, the machine creates a vapor from e-liquid, a combination of chemical compounds, flavorings, and nicotine or THC.
As a result of a vape, aka e-cigarette, doesn’t rely upon combustion to ship the nicotine, it was promoted as a safer various. Cost the e-cigarette’s battery, add e-liquid, and press the button to activate the heating coil. The person inhales the vapor by the mouthpiece and into the lungs.
The CDC stories that 6.9% of all adults 18 or older use e-cigarettes or vapes. An alarming 24.7% of twelfth graders have engaged in nicotine vaping previously month. Many vape pens have a lifespan of some months to a 12 months. Disposable e-cigarettes final not more than a few weeks. What occurs once they cease working and have to be recycled?
Vape Cartridge and E-Cigarette E-Waste: A Rising Downside
With so many vape cartridges and e-cigarettes getting used every year, the waste they generate is regarding. It’s estimated that greater than 840 million vaping units are trashed or recycled every year.
Each e-cigarette accommodates supplies like copper, which is a helpful useful resource. Some manufacturers additionally include heavy metals akin to antimony, chromium, lead, and nickel. The e-liquid corrodes inner parts, leaching the heavy metals within the course of.
Researchers discovered unsafe ranges of lead and nickel in three of the manufacturers they examined. It’s unsure precisely what number of manufacturers pose a threat of heavy steel emissions.
Rechargeable lithium-ion batteries ought to by no means go into the trash. If one in all these batteries is by accident punctured or ruptured by gear akin to a compactor, a course of referred to as thermal runaway could cause a hearth.
Thermal runaway happens when the battery’s temperature will increase attributable to overcharging, harm, manufacturing defects, or publicity to excessive sizzling or chilly exterior temperatures. Overheated batteries, flammable gases, or brief circuits brought on by harm can set off a hearth.
Plastic parts are additionally present in e-cigarettes and vape cartridges. They launch microplastics into the setting. Correct recycling is important to decreasing the abundance of microplastics within the floor, air, and water.
The ultimate concern is the THC, nicotine, and chemical compounds present in vape cartridges. These are hazardous supplies. Throwing out {a partially} stuffed cartridge leads to the liquid ending up within the soil and groundwater inside a landfill, or on the street if the cartridge’s parts drip from a truck throughout transportation.
The Penalties of Improper Disposal
Many states have but to enact legal guidelines concerning e-cigarette disposal. Whereas e-liquid is hazardous waste, it’s not one thing individuals recycle. An excessive amount of of it results in the trash.
In a landfill, there’s an opportunity an animal ingests a number of the liquid in a vape that was improperly thrown out. THC and nicotine are harmful to animals.
An grownup mouse weighs roughly 20 grams. If a mouse is scavenging in a landfill and drinks e-liquid, simply 0.06 milligrams are sufficient to kill that mouse. A crow eats that dying mouse. The crow has now ingested harmful quantities of nicotine, too.
THC, present in marijuana, might not kill an animal, however it might influence their reactions and motor abilities. An animal like a raccoon that ingested THC in vaping liquid might develop into aggressive with people or stray right into a street and trigger crashes. This poses security dangers.
Each vape pen or cartridge additionally contributes to air pollution from heavy metals and microplastics. Lithium-ion battery fires are a threat when gear crushes batteries from discarded units. These conditions are why it’s so vital to recycle them appropriately.
Problem With E-Cigarette and Vape Recycling
Disposing of vapes and cartridges is crucial, however many states lack legal guidelines to handle it. The e-cigarette and battery usually are not processed in the identical method. E-vape liquid should be processed like family cleaners and detergents, whereas the pens are processed as small electronics with recyclable batteries.
As of 2025, solely California has proposed legal guidelines banning disposable e-cigarettes and making certain that different vapes are labeled as family hazardous waste. Which means any vape cartridges and pens should be recycled at a facility that accepts hazardous waste.
Maine, New Jersey, New York, and Oregon have enacted or launched EPR laws.
- Maine – Handed in June 2025, the “Digital Smoking Machine Stewardship Plan” implements a program for amassing and recycling undesirable vaping units, and producers of vaping units should take part in this system financially.
- New Jersey – S4271 was launched within the Senate in March 2025. It’s nonetheless pending, however the concept is identical as Maine’s. Producers of e-vaping gear develop into chargeable for financing recycling packages.
- New York – S2223 follows the identical targets as Maine’s invoice. Launched in March of 2025, it’s been referred to the Meeting Well being Committee.
- Oregon – Beginning January 1, 2026, e-cigarettes and vaping gear are lined underneath the E-Cycles program. This requires producers to fund and handle collections and recycling.
For now, most states use current hazardous-waste and battery-recycling laws. Deal with your e-cigarettes and vaping units as hazardous waste and recycle them that method. Disposal usually means taking harmful waste to a neighborhood recycling facility after making an appointment.
You may need to attend for a yearly hazardous waste neighborhood occasion. If these don’t enable you, we’ve got a listing of choices that might be extremely helpful.
The Finest Approaches for Vape Cartridge and E-Cigarette Recycling
Help retailers that take again used vapes. Some supply drop-off bins that make it straightforward to recycle used vapes once you’re searching for new ones. That’s the most suitable choice, however it’s not the one one.
Select manufacturers that provide take-back packages. Listed here are a couple of choices at the moment obtainable to vape customers.
- Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA): The DEA holds a yearly Nationwide Prescription Drug Take Again Day, and vape cartridges are accepted throughout these occasions. You will need to take away the lithium battery first, nonetheless.
- Fernway: Fernway began the East Coast’s first vape recycling program in 2022. Recycle together with your native dispensary in states like Illinois, Massachusetts, New Jersey, and New York. Search for drop packing containers in taking part retailers.
- IQOS or VEEV (Philip Morris Worldwide): Whereas no takeback program is obtainable within the U.S., there are packages obtainable in Canada. Philip Morris recommends that U.S. customers go to their native hazardous waste facility.
- R.J. Reynolds Vapor Firm: R.J. Reynolds companions with Call2Recycle and g2. Call2Recycle has assortment bins throughout the U.S. Recycle by mail with g2 after ordering a recycling envelope.
Recycle Nation has an up to date listing of native companies and amenities that settle for vape cartridges and e-cigarettes. Lookup your ZIP code with “e-cig cartridges” for the merchandise. In case you don’t discover any places in your space, your native dispensary is the place it’s best to go to discover ways to recycle vape pens and cartridges.
