More than 10,000 kilograms of lithium ends up in landfill each year as a result of disposable vapes being discarded, a study revealed on Tuesday.
Scientists from University College London said that waste from the batteries of the devices was flooding nearby waterways with toxic nickel, cobalt and organic solvents.
Disposable vapes have skyrocketed in popularity in the UK since 2021, but ministers are consulting on whether to ban the devices completely next year.
Around 1.3 million disposable vapes are discarded each week, according to UCL.
Researchers harvested batteries from disposable vapes and assessed them using the same techniques used to study batteries in electric cars.
They then examined the batteries under microscopes and used an X-ray to map their internal structure.
The UCL team found that the lithium-ion battery could be charged and discharged up to 450 times.
Professor Paul Shearing, senior author of the paper from UCL Chemical Engineering and the University of Oxford, said: “The surprise for us were the results that pointed toward just how long these batteries could potentially cycle. If you use a low charge and discharge rate, you can see that for over 700 cycles, you still have more than 90 per cent capacity retention. That’s a pretty good battery, actually. And these are just being discarded. They’re being chucked on the side of the road.
"As a bare minimum, the public needs to be aware of the types of batteries going into these devices and the need to properly dispose of them. Manufacturers should provide the ecosystem for reuse and recycling of e-cigarette batteries, and also should be moving towards rechargeable devices as the default.”
Hamish Reid, first author of the study from UCL Chemical Engineering, said: "Popularity in single-use vapes has exploded in recent years. Despite being sold as disposable, our research has shown that the lithium-ion batteries stored within them are capable of being charged and discharged over 450 times. This work highlights the huge waste of limited resources caused by disposable vapes."
