The Disposable Vape Ban

Single-use vapes are an inefficient use of critical resources and pose a growing environmental and safety concern.

They are often discarded as litter or thrown into residual waste, causing them to leach harmful substances into soils and waterways, and threaten biodiversity. When vapes end up in black bins, they’re typically sent to landfill or incineration — resulting in the permanent loss of valuable materials.

The improper disposal of these vapes has also caused a drastic increase in lithium battery fires, these fires occur when the battery is damaged as they are prone to overheating and ignition when damaged or exposed to high temperatures.

To stop this, England, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland are banning the sale and supply of single-use vapes from 1 June 2025.

This guidance applies to:

• Importers
• Retail outlets
• Vaping product manufacturers
• Wholesalers

This includes any shop or business that sells single-use vapes, such as a:

• Convenience store
• Market stall
• Petrol station
• Specialist vape shop
• Supermarket

Businesses who continue to sell or supply, offer to sell or supply, or have in their possession for sale or supply all single-use or disposable vapes could receive a sanction or prosecution.

How the ban is enforced will vary between the UK’s four nations (England, Scotland, Wales, and Northern Ireland)

Enforcement action for each UK nation can be found on the gov.uk website here

“Do I still have to offer a take-back scheme after the single-use vape ban?”

Yes, all businesses that distribute vapes, even after the ban, are still legally required to offer a take-back scheme for used vapes and vape parts. This may include single-use vapes returned by customers after the vape ban had taken affect.

Information on how to offer a Vape Collection & Recycling service can be found here.

If you have any questions or queries regarding the disposable vape ban, contact the team recycling@wastecare.co.uk or 0800 091 0000