More than 6m vapes and pods discarded weekly in UK despite single-use ban, study finds
More than 6m vapes and vape pods are still being discarded every week in the UK, with waste management companies warning the sheer volume continues to strain recycling systems despite the ban on disposable e-cigarettes.According to research by the recycling campaign group Material Focus, the 6.3m vapes and pods thrown away each week in 2025 represented a 23% reduction from the previous year.This suggests the ban on sales of single-use vapes that came into effect on 1 June 2025 has had an impact on levels of waste, alongside a 31% drop in the number of vapes bought each week.However, the volume of waste is still creating problems.
The waste management company Veolia told Material Focus it had roughly one fire a day across its vehicles and facilities, probably as a result of hidden lithium-ion batteries, while Biffa reported receiving more than 200,000 incorrectly recycled vapes in its mixed collections every month,More than 1bn vapes have been thrown away over the past four years, Material Focus found,Its study, conducted with Opinium, also showed that nearly half of vapers (47%) were unaware that their devices could be recycled,A sample of 1,000 people over 16 years old who have bought a vape since 1 June 2025 were involved in the research,The results were weighted to be representative of the UK population.
Scott Butler, the executive director of Material Focus, said the “vapocalypse continues” as battery fires rose across the UK,He said the tobacco and vapes bill progressing through parliament was an opportunity for change and suggested proposed licensing for vape sellers should mandate in-store recycling,“It should be as easy to recycle a vape as it is to buy one,” Butler said,“It is a longstanding legal obligation for all of the stores who are profiting from selling them to offer safe recycling drop-off points and cover the costs of doing that,Vape producers and importers should then cover the costs of recycling.
”Because vapes are powered by lithium-ion batteries, improperly binned devices that are then crushed or damaged can spark dangerous fires in bin lorries and recycling centres.There is no specific data collection for lithium battery-related fires in England and Wales.In Scotland, according to the latest freedom of information data from the Scottish fire and rescue service, there were 69 lithium battery-related fires in 2025, compared with 20 in 2019, with last year’s figures including 10 house fires, two in hospitals and three in prisons.According to data going back to 2009, there have been no related fatalities in Scotland.The incorrect disposal of these batteries, which should not be thrown into an ordinary bin but can be recycled in specific bins at many supermarkets, has resulted in serious fires in bin lorries and at recycling plants across the UK, the cost of which is estimated annually at more than £1bn, as well as causing injuries to staff.
These incidents have also caused localised spikes in air pollution that breached World Health Organization limits, posing health risks to nearby communities,While the single-use ban has shifted the market toward rechargeable models, an estimated 2,2m single-use vapes are still bought each week, the research found,Purchases of standard rechargeable vapes have also declined by 28%, falling from 6,3m a week in 2024 to 4.
5m last year.This drop has probably been offset by the rising popularity of high-capacity “big puff” rechargeables, which offer several thousand puffs compared with the older 600-puff models, as well as the wider availability of refill pods.Material Focus is calling for a comprehensive, widely accessible take-back solution paired with a large-scale public awareness campaign.The group is urging clearer recycling instructions on vape packaging and highly visible in-store collection points, arguing that this should be a core requirement of any proposed retail licensing system.A spokesperson for the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs said: “Single-use vapes get kids hooked on nicotine and blight our high streets – it’s why we’ve taken action and banned them.
“Rogue traders will face serious penalties.Those who show a blatant disregard for the rules and reoffend face unlimited fines or jail time.“We are determined for more vapes to be recycled, and have made it compulsory for all vape retailers to provide recycling bins.”
Chess: iconic Reykjavik Open sparks memory of Bobby Fischer from 1973
The nine-round Reykjavik Open, which began on Wednesday afternoon at the Harpa Conference Centre and which continued with two rounds on Thursday, is an iconic event. It was first played as an all-play-all in 1964, when Mikhail Tal won, and is close to the Hotel Reykjavik Natura, formerly the Hotel Loftleidir, which featured prominently in the epic Bobby Fischer v Boris Spassky match of 1972.The top seed in the capacity entry of 422 players is Iran’s Amin Tabatabaei, the only 2700-rated player in the field, with Romania’s Bogdan-Daniel Deac (2655) next, and the veteran Ukrainian Vasyl Ivanchuk (2624) the fourth seed.England has a large contingent of more than 20, although most of them are low-rated amateurs. GM Matthew Wadsworth (2522) is the 21st seed, and GM Simon Williams (2443) the 39th, while WIM Bodhana Sivanandan, 11, is targeting her second WGM norm
Buttler looks for form as IPL returns with riches, political rancour and aftermath of tragedy
Former England captain seeks inspiration from the pioneering Kevin Pietersen as he heads a 12-strong contingent of compatriots in 2026’s tournament“I will always be grateful for what the IPL gave me,” Kevin Pietersen tells Jos Buttler. “It gave me a lot of controversy, I earned a lot of money, but it also saved my career because I made trusting relationships that I was able to call upon to give longevity to my career.”The conversation is on Buttler’s podcast, For The Love Of Cricket, released on Tuesday, with the pair hailing their experiences of playing in the Indian Premier League. (For the love of content, they also discuss Pietersen’s new career as a YouTuber.) The 45-year-old was there in the early years, rebelling against English cricket’s uneasy relationship with a revolutionary startup, exhilarated to call Rahul Dravid and Jacques Kallis his teammates
Aryna Sabalenka sinks Rybakina to set up Miami Open final showdown with Gauff
Aryna Sabalenka believes she is ready for the challenge of her rival Coco Gauff in the Miami Open final as she stands one win away from winning Indian Wells and Miami in the same year for the first time.“She’s a fighter,” Sabalenka said of Gauff. “She’s a great player, of course. We played a lot of matches, a lot of tight matches, a lot of big finals. And, yeah, she’s a great player and I’m really excited to face her in the final
Human rights experts raise concerns over Olympics transgender women athlete ban
Over 100 human rights, sports and scientific groups have criticised the International Olympic Committee’s new gender eligibility guidelines as “a blunt and discriminatory response that is not supported by science and violates international human rights law”.The IOC’s new guidelines, announced on Friday, mandate genetic sex tests for all athletes competing in its women’s categories, as well as blanket bans of people who identify as transgender, intersex or with sex differences.Athletes in these categories have been allowed to compete in Olympic events since the IOC scrapped mandatory sex testing in 1999, which was deemed arbitrary, inaccurate, expensive and discriminatory.New IOC president Kirsty Coventry reversed the organisation’s position and backflipped on its own 2021 Framework on Fairness, Inclusion, and Non-Discrimination, a policy informed by extensive consultation and research which recognised the need for evidence-based, sport-specific and rights-respecting rules.“Mandatory genetic sex testing and rigid biological criteria as a condition for participation in the women’s category violates fundamental and universal human rights … including the right to equality, non-discrimination, dignity, privacy, and bodily autonomy,” said Professor Paula Gerber, an international human rights lawyer at Monash University
AFL scratching its head on decline in Indigenous participation as weight of history takes toll | Sean Gorman
I write this having come from the funeral of the West Perth and Buffaloes great Bill Dempsey. I mention this because Dempsey is the first Northern Territory player to play on the MCG. He was a trailblazer that set the scene so many other Territorians like Long, Rioli, Burgoyne, White and McLeod could follow. Demspey’s legacy came about by chance, as he was the support act for the talented Darwin recruit Jimmy Anderson when they both came down to Melbourne in the late 1950s. Anderson lasted a few weeks
Castleford’s sensational spell blows Bradford away to kick off birthday celebrations
It is fair to assume neither Castleford Tigers nor Bradford Bulls will be in title contention later this year, not least based on what we saw here from both teams. However, in terms of an appetiser to set the scene for Super League’s 30th anniversary weekend, this West Yorkshire derby was about as entertaining as you could have hoped for if you were a neutral.The beauty of early-season games like these is that narratives that have been formed can be quickly dismantled in the blink of an eye and, given defensive displays they have put in so far, it was hard not to feel that was perhaps the case on this occasion.With three wins from their opening five since promotion, Bradford have rightly been heralded as a major positive of 2026. In contrast, Castleford have won only once and arrived at this game off the back of a 72-6 defeat at Warrington, one of their heaviest in the Super League era
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