Improperly discarded vape products are showing up in schools, streets, and waterways. These devices contain lithium-ion batteries, nicotine, and plastics and are hazardous to health and safety, expensive to dispose of, and harmful to the environment. 

• Nicotine poses significant, immediate risks to human health and the environment, even in small doses or single exposure. 

• Aerosols created from vape use, contain harmful cancer-causing chemicals, including heavy metals such as nickel, tin, and lead; tiny particles of airborne pollutants that can be inhaled deep into the lungs; and flavorings such as diacetyl, a chemical linked to a serious lung disease.

• When improperly disposed or littered, vapes end up in waterways where nicotine quickly leaches into the water and can poison aquatic wildlife and contaminate groundwater and water sources. 

• Lithium-ion batteries, when damaged or crushed, can spark and ignite.  

• Vapes tossed in public trashcans or littered on the ground have caused fires in parks, trails and open spaces. A single fire can cause immense destruction, including damage at material management facilities and sanitation workers, are at risk of injury, and even death from fires.  

Vape waste is littering community spaces and schools, exposing children and young people to serious health and safety hazards in places where they spend much of their time. Vapes are also costly to manage. Schools may pay hundreds of dollars per pound for disposal services. Schools should not have to divert financial resources from education to manage vapes confiscated from students.  

Generally, people do not know how to properly dispose of vape products. Surveys of vape users show that most of these products (90% or more) are put into trash cans, tossed on the ground, or even flushed down toilets. Widely available, convenient, and safe disposal systems are needed to recover and recycle lithium-ion battery components, keep electronic and plastic waste out of landfills, and stop nicotine from leaching into water sources.  

While nicotine and cannabis vapes pose many of the same environmental and safety risks, cannabis products introduce additional regulatory and logistical complications for collection and disposal programs. Both products contain lithium-ion batteries and plastics, but residual THC in cannabis vapes is characterized as a controlled substance under federal law. This creates unique legal and logistical barriers for collection sites, waste transporters, waste processors, and take-back programs. As cannabis legalization expands across the country, so does the resulting gap in disposal program availability: cannabis vape users often have even fewer options for proper disposal than nicotine vape users. 

 Regardless of product type, the message is the same: never throw vapes in the trash or recycling bin.