What are disposable vapes?

E-cigarettes, also called vapes, work by heating a solution including water, flavouring and nicotine to create a vapour that the user inhales.

Disposable vape pens come ready-filled with around 600 “puffs” of e-liquid and nicotine, and cannot be recharged.

Brits throw away 1.3 million disposable vapes in a single week, according to non-profit Material Focus.

Anna Diski, plastics campaigner at Greenpeace UK, called vapes a “clear environmental menace” because they are “near impossible to recycle”.

It is hard to separate the lithium battery from the plastic and other parts that make up a vape.

Ms Diski said: “They’re one of the new defining images of single-use, throwaway culture, often ending up as waste that litters our streets, parks, and our beaches.”

A 2022 study published in the peer-reviewed Lancet journal warned of the “rising environmental threat” of vapes.

As with cigarette butts, disposable e-cigarettes tend to be “thrown away carelessly” rather than disposed of in dedicated facilities like smartphones are, the study said.

As they degrade, they leach plastic, “toxic compounds” and nicotine into the environment.

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