How to dispose of vapes and vape batteries properly in the UK

Every vape contains a lithium battery, and batteries thrown in with general rubbish or mixed recycling get crushed in bin lorries and at waste sites. A crushed lithium cell can short and catch fire, and UK fire services and waste operators regularly warn about fires started this way.

Vapes also count as electrical equipment, covered by the UK's WEEE (waste electrical and electronic equipment) rules. That means they should go through electrical recycling, where the battery, metals and plastics can be separated and recovered. The crossed-out wheelie bin symbol on the packaging is your reminder.

Since 1 June 2025 single-use vapes can no longer be sold in the UK, but plenty are still sitting in drawers, and reusable kits wear out too. All of them need recycling properly.

You have more options than you might think. Shops that sell vapes have obligations to help customers recycle them, and many have a collection box by the counter, so ask next time you are in. Supermarkets and shops that sell batteries usually have a battery bin for loose cells.

Your local household waste recycling centre, the tip, takes small electricals and batteries, and is the right place for anything damaged. Some councils also collect small electricals from the kerbside, so check your council's website.

The Recycle Your Electricals campaign runs a postcode search that lists drop-off points near you, which is handy if you are not sure what is local.

A couple of minutes of preparation makes recycling smoother and safer. The aim is to remove liquid, separate removable batteries and stop any loose cell from shorting against something else in the collection bin.

Removable 18650 and 21700 cells come out of the mod first. Tape over both ends with ordinary sticky tape or electrical tape, so the terminals cannot touch anything metal in the bin. Devices with sealed batteries, like most pod kits, go in whole: do not try to prise the battery out.

Empty any pods or tanks first, and wipe off spills so the device is not dripping in a collection box.

Different bits of a vape setup go to different places. The rule of thumb: anything with a battery goes to electrical or battery recycling, and anything damaged goes to the recycling centre with a word to the staff.

Parts without a battery, like empty plastic bottles, old coils, drip tips and spare glass, contain no lithium. Check your council's guidance for those, since what can go in kerbside recycling varies across the UK. For leftover nicotine e-liquid, ask at your recycling centre rather than pouring it down the sink.

Tap the item you are holding.

A battery that has swollen, leaked, overheated or been crushed is more likely to short or heat up again. It should not go in a general shop collection box with everything else, where it can be squashed.

Tape any exposed terminals, keep it in a ceramic dish or metal tin away from anything flammable, and take it to your household waste recycling centre as soon as you can. Tell the staff what it is so they can put it in the right container. If it is still hot or smoking, do not move it: follow our guide to a hot or swollen vape battery.

If a newly bought device arrived faulty, get in touch through our help page before you recycle it.

Recycling vapes properly is not complicated, it just needs a habit. Dead kit and old cells go in one place, they get taped and emptied, and they leave the house on your next trip to the shops or the tip.

The same habit helps with storage. Old devices left flat in a drawer for months degrade, and drawers full of keys and change are exactly where loose cells short. Our guide to storing vapes and batteries covers the rest.

Replacing a worn-out device? Browse our refillable vape kits, where the pods and coils are replaced and the device keeps going.