Most young users put disposable e

Oct 23, 2023

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E-cigarettes are creating a new source of environmental pollution

A toxic, plastic problem: E-cigarette waste and the environment

Disposable e-cigarettes – now the most popular type of e-cigarettes among young people – are not only attracting young people to nicotine use with candy, dessert, and fruit flavors. The single-use plastic devices, which contain lithium batteries and heavy metals, are also creating large streams of toxic and hazardous waste.

A new Truth Initiative survey of 15-24-year-olds finds that two-thirds (68%) of disposable e-cigarette users threw their empty disposable e-cigarettes in the trash, 13% dropped them in regular recycling bins, 9% littered them on the ground, and 8% sent them to electronic recycling facilities. With 19% of current vapers tossing five or more vapes in the trash every month, empty disposable e-cigarettes are piling up and contributing to a growing global e-waste problem.

Truth Initiative first highlighted the environmental dangers of e-cigarettes in the 2021 report "A toxic, plastic problem: E-cigarette waste and the environment," which found that more than half (51%) of young e-cigarette users threw used e-cigarette pods or empty disposables in the trash. Now, new data reveal the situation has gotten worse as the popularity of disposables has grown. Meanwhile, safe disposal guidance for vapes and their components is virtually non-existent from manufacturers.

With flavors like cheesecake, bubble gum, and strawberry ice cream, disposable e-cigarettes like Puff Bar and Elf Bar saw a huge rise in popularity after they were exempted from a Food and Drug Administration policy in 2020 that only removed flavored pod-based e-cigarettes like JUUL from the market. As a result, use of disposable e-cigarettes increased over 1,000% between 2019 and 2020 among high school e-cigarette users.

These products, which are on the market illegally because they have not undergone the required FDA review process, have yet to face significant regulation. In 2022, disposable e-cigarette use became more popular than ever, with disposables making up nearly 50% of the U.S. e-cigarette market share

E-cigarette products are evolving so quickly that guidance and information on disposing e-cigarette waste responsibly struggles to keep up. At the same time, e-cigarette companies fail to inform consumers how to dispose of products safely and in an environmentally conscious manner. Environmentally conscious users run into roadblocks if they try to dispose of their single-use vapes responsibly.

Like cigarettes, littered e-cigarettes are a major source of environmental pollution, which we detailed in our fact sheet "Tobacco and the Environment." Disposable e-cigarettes specifically contain multiple types of waste: hazardous waste from residual nicotine, heavy metals from the vaporizer's electrical circuitry, lithium batteries, residual e-liquid, and plastic waste from a non-decomposable outer shell and packaging materials. When littered, this toxic chemical and plastic vape waste degrades and leaches into the environment, contaminating ecosystems and wildlife. Disposable vape e-waste can be ingested by animals and present a choking risk for children.

Disposable vapes are also a fire hazard especially when thrown in the trash or regular recycling bins. The lithium batteries can explode or start fires in recycling bins, waste trucks, or waste processing plants if accidentally turned on or crushed in trash compacters. Almost 200 e-cigarette explosions and fires leading to 133 acute injuries were documented between 2009-2016, according to a 2017 report from the U.S. Fire Administration.

Record levels of disposable e-cigarette use coupled with the lack of clear disposal guidance from e-cigarette makers alongside recycling facilities ill-equipped to handle e-cigarette waste set the stage for significant environmental consequences. Most disposable e-cigarettes are on the market illegally, and the environmental issue is just one more reason for FDA to act quickly in its review and enforcement of all e-cigarette products. In the meantime, we need accountability for safe and environmentally friendly disposal of these products.

To mitigate future harm and stem the ongoing environmental impact of e-cigarette waste, public health leaders, federal regulators, and the tobacco industry must take urgently needed action, including:

Read more about the environmental impacts of vaping in "A toxic, plastic problem: E-cigarette waste and the environment."

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