How to Recycle E Liquid Bottles and Minimise Waste

If you vape, it won’t have escaped your notice that you are generating a significant volume of plastic waste.

You will know that plastics are incredibly harmful to the environment and that you should do everything you can to prevent plastic polluting the planet.

Unfortunately, it is hard to do your bit to save the planet when the current laws governing vaping are preventing you from making sensible choices.

Before I talk about recycling e liquid bottles, I feel that I ought to emphasise the idiocy of the infamous TPD.

Plastic and the TPD

The Tobacco Products Directive (TPD) set out the rules governing the manufacture, presentation and sale of tobacco and products containing nicotine throughout the European Union. Despite Brexit, these rules remain in force in the UK.

There is much about the TPD that defies logic. Perhaps the biggest issue is that e liquids containing nicotine may only be sold in volume of 10ml or less. This rule was an attempt to limit consumption which, of course, it doesn’t. Vapers have been forced to invest in multiple bottles of e liquid when one larger one would have sufficed, thereby increasing the quantity of plastic used.

If you are thinking that five 10ml bottles would contain the same amount of plastic as one 50ml bottle, think again. Small e liquid bottles generate thousands of tonnes of entirely unnecessary plastic.

It is hard to imagine why the EU would claim to be waging war on plastic waste and then institute regulations that guarantee an increase in plastic usage.

To make matters worse, the TPD has also led to an increase in both waste paper and cardboard. The regulations stipulate that a leaflet must be included with each bottle of e liquid. This has meant that every bottle of e liquid is now supplied in a box as a container is required to hold the paperwork.

Are e liquid bottles recyclable?

The short answer is yes! Most e-liquid bottles are made from recyclable forms of plastic, usually LDPE, HDPE, or PET. The latter material is the most widely recycled and you can certainly place PET bottles into your household recycling bin.

You should check with your local authority to see which forms of plastic they will accept. It is worth noting that the caps and nozzles of the bottles may be manufactured from a different form of plastic than that used to make the bottle itself.

Recycled PET can be used to make polyester fabrics, carpets and fillings for soft furnishings. Recycled HSPE is utilised to make a variety of plastic items including furniture, fencing and detergent bottles. LDPE can also be recycled and then used to make piping, sheeting, films and bin bags, amongst other things.

Should e liquid bottles be cleaned before being recycled?

You should always rinse out your e liquid bottles before submitting them for recycling although this does mean that a small amount of residue will enter your drains. The impact of this is unclear.

If you are disposing of a bottle because you don’t like the flavour or it is beyond its use-by date, always squeeze out the e liquid first. Pour it onto an absorbent and biodegradable material such as kitchen towel. It can then be placed in your organic waste caddy.

If your local authority does not recycle organic waste, place the material in a sealed bag and treat it as general waste. Never pour e liquid down the sink, especially juice containing nicotine. Nicotine is hazardous waste and the environmental impact of nicotine entering drainage systems is yet to be fully understood.

How can you help the environment?

Changes to the regulations governing vaping are crucial if the impact of vaping on plastic waste is to be reduced. Of course, e liquid bottles are not the only issue as disposable vape pens are also problematic.

While you wait for an outbreak of common sense, always recycle your bottles.

You could also reduce your plastic usage a little by investing in shortfill e liquids. These are nicotine-free e liquids and so are not restricted to volumes of 10ml. There’s room in shortfill bottles to add nicotine shots and, of course, this means you will need to buy shots in 10ml bottles. But overall, you will minimise the weight of plastic used to contain your completed juice.

It could be some time before the UK government reviews vaping regulations. Since the TPD came into force there have been a few significant distractions including Brexit, a global pandemic, Putin’s invasion of Ukraine and the cost-of-living crisis. When everything calms down, perhaps those silly rules regarding e liquid bottles will be abolished.