1 million e-cigarettes thrown away every day: UK's 'environmental nightmare' of puffs

In the UK, thirteen e-cigarettes are thrown away every second, or more than a million devices every day. In the absence of a dedicated recycling channel and sufficient consumer information, e-cigarettes, and even more so disposable e-cigarettes, pose a major environmental risk.

A study conducted by Opinium on behalf of Material Focus looked at e-cigarette recycling behavior, highlighting both the scale of waste generated by these new products, the rapid growth in consumption, and the importance of banning all disposable e-cigarettes.[1].

Pollution, fires: the new challenges of this mass waste

As electronic devices, e-cigarettes should not be thrown away as ordinary waste, but should be deposited in dedicated collection points. Indeed, 80% of the components of an e-cigarette can currently be recycled. On the other hand, the presence of lithium or copper makes them particularly toxic waste, which can lead to lasting pollution of water and soil. Nearly 40% of e-cigarettes purchased are single-use e-cigarettes (puff). The low recycling levels of these products are a concern for the environment, since 61% of consumers of puffs indicate throwing them in the trash. In total, 8.2 million e-cigarettes are thrown away every week outside of any recycling channel. The presence of batteries in these products poses a new challenge for waste centers, with a 71% increase in fires linked to damaged or crushed e-cigarettes between 2022 and 2023.

THE " big puffs ", the manufacturers' solution to circumvent the ban

According to the study, 77% of e-cigarette consumers consider that manufacturers provide insufficient information on good recycling practices. Similarly, many vaping brands do not provide recycling points for consumers, despite this being one of their legal obligations. According to the British Minister for the Circular Economy, e-cigarette manufacturers still contribute too little to the financing of the treatment or recycling of the waste that their activity generates. Above all, while disposable e-cigarettes were due to be banned from June 2025, manufacturers anticipated the regulatory risk by marketing " big puffs ", offering 6000 puffs to the consumer, compared to 600 for puffs first generation. These new electronic cigarettes, which can be recharged electronically, but do not allow the consumer to refill with liquid or change the resistance, actually have an extremely limited lifespan. However, they escape the regulatory definition of "disposable", and therefore the ban planned in six months. By dividing the price per puff by more than four, these new products attract a growing number of consumers, reaching three million purchases per week.

Ban on puffs, recycling sector: solutions to tackle the problem

To address the "environmental nightmare" of disposable e-cigarettes, Material Focus advocates in particular for the implementation of immediate, significant and transparent action by manufacturers, to offer a take-back solution to the consumer, associated with a communication campaign, and requests that all devices sold be accompanied by clear information on recycling possibilities. For their part, public health organizations consider that preventing waste production remains the most effective solution to combat pollution. In other words, these stakeholders are calling for a ban on all disposable e-cigarettes, including new generation models, as a priority. Furthermore, as this issue was raised with the eco-organization Alcome For tobacco products, public health NGOs believe that the establishment of a recycling channel for electronic cigarettes must be strictly regulated, and not be misused by manufacturers as a tool for green washing and credibility with public decision-makers.

©Tobacco Free Generation

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[1] Material Focus, “Big puff” vapes are surging onto the market adding to the vape environmental crisis, 16/12/2024, (accessed the same day)