From the 1 June next year, it will be illegal to sell or supply single-use vapes in England following the introduction of legislation designed to protect children and young people's health, and to reduce environmental damage.

 

On 23 October 2024 the Government laid legislation,  The Environmental Protection (Single-use Vapes) (England) Regulations 2024 which bans the supply of single-use vapes in England from 1 June 2025. Businesses will have until the deadline to sell any remaining stock they hold in preparation for the ban coming into force.

 

Single-use vapes are those that are not designed or intended to be re-used and includes any vape that is not both refillable and rechargeable. To be considered refillable and rechargeable:

 

• The vape must be refillable either by refilling a tank or cartridge with e-liquid, or by replacing pre-filled pods. Pods must be separately available to purchase.
• The vape must have a battery that can be recharged.
• A coil in the vape must be replaceable – this can be either by replacing the coil itself or replacing a pod that has the coil inside. These must also be separately available.

 

As well as lithium-ion batteries, vapes also contain circuit boards which - if not disposed of properly - can leach toxic compounds such as cobalt and copper into the environment as they degrade and harm biodiversity, soils and waterways. When they are thrown into residual waste, the materials are lost to incineration or landfill. In 2022, vapes with more than 40 tonnes of lithium in them were discarded, enough to power 5,000 electric vehicles.

 

They can also cause fires when crushed or damaged in waste lorries or at waste facilities, which risks harm to the public, waste management officers and firefighters. 

 

Last year, according to the Department for Environment, Food, and Rural Affairs (Defra), it was estimated that almost five million single-use vapes were either littered or thrown away in general waste each week in the UK - almost four times as many as the previous year.

 

Recycling vapes is however not straightforward because of their size and the way they are manufactured, which makes them difficult to take apart. There are also many different types of vape on the market which makes it difficult to develop a standard recycling process.

 

Councillor Iskandar Jefferies said “Introducing these Regulations will be a crucial step in tackling litter and plastic pollution which blight our environment. It will reduce the amount of waste we generate, protecting our communities, wildlife and ecosystems for future generations to enjoy. Single us vapes blight our streets as litter, are a hazard in our bin lorries, and are expensive and difficult to deal with in our recycling centres. We therefore welcome the introduction of this legislation.”