At just £5 a pop and pre-filled with enough liquid to provide up to 600 puffs each, it’s no real surprise that brightly-coloured disposable vapes are the latest scourge of the high streets – both in terms of the shops selling them and the litter they produce.
But aside from the unsurprising yet concerning fact that the sickly sweet devices are more popular than ever with children, serious issues have also been raised about the throwaway nature of the vapes, which cannot be recycled due to their lithium batteries.
Most recently, an advert for the popular Elfbar brand on Transport for London buses caused furore for featuring the slogan ‘Recycling for a Greener Future’.
The organisation Waste Experts conducted a study (in collaboration with the sustainable vape brand ANDS) which indicated that, despite widely being believed to be destined for landfill, actually between 97.6% and 99% of a typical single-use vape is either recyclable or recoverable.
“All materials found in disposables that we examined except for the battery have recycling and/or recovery options within the UK,” said scheme manager Stewart Price – ahead of a parliamentary debate around whether to ban the cigarette alternatives.
“For example, laminated cardboard can be used in low-grade paper products such as drinks holders.”
As executive director of Material Focus Scott Butler explains: “It’s important to note that all vapes are recyclable. The real challenge is not the recycling of them, it’s the availability of drop-off points and it’s also the ongoing failure of vape producers and retailers to meet their obligations”.
Retailers are required to comply with legislation which means that if they sell vapes, they must provide an option for recycling the items on a one-on-one basis or face penalties. However, there has been concern that not all retailers are adhering to the guidelines.
Butler added that while it is good news that there are “starting to be more drop-off points, there needs to be clearer signposting”.
And let’s not forget the ecological effect of disposable #vapes pic.twitter.com/t7dW8iXqdf
— Oliver Woodruff 🇺🇦 (@StreetDogMaggie) August 21, 2023
Are vape adverts a ‘thin veneer of greenwash’?
Greenpeace has been among the most furious critics of disposable vapes, having launched a petition to get them banned altogether. Commenting on the Elf Bar advert, plastics campaigner Anna Diski said: “These adverts really are just a blatant attempt to bath an environmental menace in a thin veneer of greenwash”.
Hubbub creative director Jack Hodgkiss also criticised the bus advert in a viral LinkedIn post: “Contender for the greenwash awards 2023? ‘Disposable’ vapes are extremely difficult to recycle. They can’t go in a normal bin because the in-built batteries can cause fires.”
He continued: “They can’t go into a mixed recycling bin because they’re electrical waste. Many electrical waste points actively turn away disposable vapes because recyclers are unsure what to do with them, it simply costs too much to retrieve the materials within.”
However, a TfL spokesperson said that the transport network’s policy “allows adverts relating to vapes and e-cigarette products on outdoor advertising sites” and works to “ensure any e-cigarette campaign running on its estate complies with the latest rules by the ASA and has appropriate messaging”.
Sustainability Beat contacted Elfbar for comment but the company did not reply.
Contender for the Greenwash awards 2023? Disposable vapes can’t be binned or recycled – built-in batteries pose fire risks, and e-waste facilities are struggling to process them. Over 1.3 million are used weekly and Elfbar puts this on a bus 🫠 pic.twitter.com/9ZekElQ1W5
— Jack Hodgkiss (@JackHodgkiss) August 9, 2023
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No smoke without fire
Research commissioned by Material Focus last year found that the amount of disposable vapes which end up in landfill contains enough lithium for them to create 1,200 in-demand electric car batteries.
Because lithium batteries easily catch fire when they are broken, there have been reports of a growing number of fires associated with the products. The London Fire Brigade (LFB) says it’s important to check the items are bought from a reputable retailer and that the batteries are not immersed in water or kept near other metal products.
LFB assistant commissioner for fire safety Charlie Pugsley explained: “Lithium batteries store a huge amount of energy in a very small space and are much more energetic compared to other types of batteries.”
“If there is overheating, crushing, penetrating or overcharging, then a fault occurs within the damaged cells (which) may lead the component materials to burn or the battery to explode.“
Disposable vapes cause litter problems, are a fire hazard and appeal too strongly to children, according to local councils in England and Wales.
Councillor David Fothergill from the Local Government Association says they should be bannedhttps://t.co/gEg8rQZt3z pic.twitter.com/w8VrSfaeJo
— BBC Breakfast (@BBCBreakfast) July 15, 2023
What can be done to solve the problem?
The Local Government Association last month called on the government to ban the sale of the products, with chairman of the body’s Community Wellbeing Board David Fothergill saying at the time, “Councils are not anti-vapes, which are shown to be less harmful than smoking and have a place as a tool to use in smoking cessation.”
“However, disposable vapes are fundamentally flawed in their design and inherently unsustainable products, meaning an outright ban will prove more effective than attempts to recycle more vapes.
“Single-use vapes blight our street as litter, are a hazard in our bin lorries, are expensive and difficult to deal with in our recycling centres.”
🚨 Shocking display of greenwash
Disposable vapes have created a huge waste problem that we can’t recycle our way out of.
The govt MUST #BanDisposableVapes to stop this waste. https://t.co/DqXddfikFb
— Greenpeace UK (@GreenpeaceUK) August 10, 2023
Is it just a matter of culture?
Greenpeace’s Anna Diski describes the products as “one of the new defining images of our single-use throwaway culture” and perhaps she is right.
As Butler points out: “From an environmental perspective you could make the case that this is the worst product that’s ever been made, (especially) if you consider the fire risk issue and the danger to life”.
“The product has landed on the market and taken off like nothing before,” he said, adding that “it shows how far we need to go in terms of delivering a green and circular economy”.
Just as we have encouraged the use reusable coffee cups to combat the throwaway culture around on-the-go drinks, perhaps it’s time policymakers and businesses turned their attention to making reusable vaping products more affordable, rather than allowing mass marketing of cheap throwaway items.
For now though, until further policy and attitude changes, if there were a Greenwash Awards, there’s no doubt that ‘recyclable vapes’ would make the shortlist.
