Ban on sale and supply of single-use vapes in England to come into force on 1 June 2025 

Single-use vapes are not rechargeable or refillable, and are typically discarded as general waste in a bin or littered, rather than recycled – contributing to a flood of litter on our streets. 

Even when they are sent to recycling facilities, they usually have to be disassembled by hand – a slow and difficult process which will struggle to keep up with the pace of vape production. Their lithium-ion batteries can also present a fire risk to waste industry workers.

Last year, Materials Focus estimated that almost five million single-use vapes were either littered or thrown away in general waste every week in the UK, almost four times as much as the previous year and the equivalent of eight being thrown away per second. In 2022, they found more than 40 tonnes of lithium from single-use vapes was discarded, which is the same amount used to power 5,000 electric vehicles. 

Making the sale of single-use vapes illegal, delivers on the Government’s commitment to act on this important issue, and kick-starts the push towards a circular economy and helps to curb the rise of young people taking up vaping, while also protecting our natural environment and town streets from a tide of litter.

Full press release: Read more on the official gov.uk website