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.