Vapes: 3 types of toxic waste in 1

What is vape waste?

Vape waste is waste associated with vapes, including disposable vapes, pods or cartridges, e-liquid containers and packaging, and vape batteries. Vape waste is especially bad for the environment because it is three forms of waste in one: plastic waste, hazardous waste, and electronic waste (e-waste). All of these are hazardous for the environment.

Vapes create plastic waste. The device body and pod components are made of plastic. Plastic is an environmental problem because it doesn’t biodegrade like organic materials do – it can take up to hundreds of years for some plastic items to decompose.3 Vapes are also a toxic waste because of the heavy metals in the vape and the nicotine in the e-juice.4 Finally, vapes are e-waste since they contain lithium-ion batteries and a heating element.5

How do vaping products generate more single-use plastics?

Many vape products, like Juul, use plastic pods or cartridges to hold the e-juice. With these products, users replace the pods when the e-juice is used up. But these pods can’t be recycled with other plastic waste because they contain nicotine, which is hazardous waste.6 They also have other toxic chemicals in them. If pods and cartridges are discarded as litter, they may leak nicotine and other toxic chemicals into the environment or be eaten by wildlife or pets. Research has shown that even very small amounts of nicotine can be harmful or even lethal to animals.7

To get an idea of the impact of vape waste, researchers at the University of California, San Francisco (UCSF), collected 172 pieces of vape waste in one day from 12 Bay Area school parking lots they went to.8 And that’s just high schools – where kids aren’t even legally allowed to vape.

The problem may get even worse. At the beginning of 2020, the youth vaping epidemic finally prompted action from the Food and Drug Administration (FDA). The agency banned flavors, including menthol, for pod or cartridge-based e-cigarettes. But if there’s one thing the tobacco industry is good at, it’s finding ways to get around policies that are meant to protect people from their dangerous products. Thanks to intense opposition by the tobacco industry, the FDA’s policy doesn’t include disposable e-cigarettes, which are also plastic. Not surprisingly, the popularity of these products, such as Puff Bar, has taken off.9

How does vape waste create microplastics?

When pods, cartridges, and other plastic vape waste is discarded, that plastic eventually breaks down into smaller and smaller pieces of plastic called microplastic.10 Unlike a banana peel or eggshell, these tiny particles of plastic aren’t harmless or biodegradable. Instead, they can end up polluting our oceans due to storms, wind, and other water runoff. Microplastics have been found in marine wildlife and even our drinking water.11  

Microplastics are so prevalent that scientists estimate humans may ingest up to a credit card’s worth of microplastic a year.12 Though scientists are still studying the potential harms of microplastics, studies suggest that they could cause inflammation and be toxic in humans and animals alike.13 By 2040, there could be 10 million additional tons of plastic waste each year.13

How does vape waste increase tech waste?

Disposing of e-waste is a considerable challenge due to the many different types of chemicals and materials in these products. Vapes present at least two problems, as their vaporizers contain a circuit board, which can contain plastics and heavy metals.14 They also use lithium-ion batteries. But many vape products and accessories are being thrown away in the garbage or worse – dumped as litter.15 As batteries degrade, they can leach their chemicals into the environment. And if they are put in garbage or trash receptacles, they pose a fire risk in waste and recycling facilities if damaged or exposed to high heat, putting workers’ safety at risk.16

Is vape waste considered hazardous waste?

Yes. Both California state and federal laws list nicotine as hazardous waste. Nicotine is a neurotoxin that has been used as a pesticide and has been considered acute hazardous waste by the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) since 1980.17 Discarded devices may leach lead,18 cobalt,19 and other substances into the environment. Toxic chemicals from commercial tobacco product waste can accumulate in animals, soil, and aquatic ecosystems, leading to contaminated drinking water and foods and posing additional downstream risks to human health and the environment.20

How big is the vape waste problem?

Consider that one survey found that 8.1 million adults vape daily.21 Even if just one-third of this group uses one pod or disposable e-cigarette a day, that would produce more than a billion pieces of vape waste in one year, with no place to properly discard or recycle. And this isn’t counting vape waste from the estimated more than two million middle and high school students who vape.22

Can vapes be properly disposed of?

Vapes need to be properly disposed of because they are toxic e-waste. Rechargeable e-cigarettes like Juul have lithium-ion batteries, which can be recycled via most city recycling programs, like Call2Recycle. Unfortunately, the pod/cartridge is not so easy to properly dispose of due to the toxic e-liquid residue. As of now, there’s no clear way to recycle used pods in the US.