‘Skip the bin, turn [them] in’

Firefighters and advocates have sounded the alarm after a troubling increase in fires sparked in trash bins, garbage trucks, and waste-collection facilities. Experts have blamed the increase on the so-called “vape effect,” which involves lithium-ion batteries from improperly discarded vaping devices catching fire, according to E-Scrap News.

What’s happening?

In July, the U.S. and Canada experienced 56 publicly reported fires at waste-collection and recycling facilities, Ryan Fogelman of Fire Rover wrote in an August piece appearing on Waste360. That was the largest number in a single month since Fogelman began tracking such fires in 2016.

Fogelman’s data further showed that 2024 and 2025 had the largest number of fires at waste-disposal sites on record.

“To put this into perspective, at Fire Rover, we’ve already suppressed more fires in 2025 than in any previous year,” Fogelman wrote on Waste360. “We’re currently on pace to suppress more than 400 incidents at client facilities across the globe in 2025, up from 268 in 2024.”

Improper disposal of vape products has been the biggest cause of this increase in waste-facility fires, according to E-Scrap News.

“I coined the term ‘vape effect’ to describe the rising number of lithium-ion batteries entering nearly all waste and recycling facilities globally,” Fogelman wrote in a September piece published by Waste360. “The reality is an estimated 1.2 billion single-use vapes will continue to increase every year as more adults over the age of 21 make the switch from traditional cigarettes to vapes.”

The U.S. and Canada have not been alone in seeing a significant uptick in such fires. In the U.K., the number of fires in the waste-disposal system that were sparked by lithium-ion batteries increased 70% in a single year, topping 1,200 fires, according to Material Focus, a nonprofit.

Why are ‘vape effect’ fires important?

Fires sparked by vape products that have been improperly disposed of pose a significant threat to the safety of waste-disposal workers and others. They also interfere with recycling and trash-collection efforts.

Additionally, fires are just one of the many risks that discarded vapes pose to human health and the environment. A 2023 review of the available scientific literature found that vaping devices contain heavy metals like mercury and lead as well as fire-retardant chemicals, all of which can leach into the soil and water supply when vapes are improperly disposed of.

What’s being done about ‘vape effect’ fires?

In order to prevent fires sparked by vapes and other products containing lithium-ion batteries, battery-containing devices must be properly disposed of at specialized facilities. Authorities hope that by spreading public awareness and by expanding the availability of battery drop-off sites, they can reduce the number of vaping devices that end up in the trash or in recycling systems meant for other materials.

Some countries have gone even further. For example, Malaysia and Singapore have taken steps to ban vaping products outright, while the U.K. has prohibited all single-use vapes.

In the U.S., the National Waste and Recycling Association has launched its Battery Safety Now campaign, which uses the slogan, “Skip the Bin, Turn Your Batteries In,” to help increase awareness and encourage disposal of vapes and other battery-containing devices at appropriate drop-off locations.

“Battery fires are happening more often,” warned the Battery Safety Now website. “They’ve destroyed homes, burned down garbage trucks and recycling centers, and — tragically — taken lives. When a facility goes up in flames, trash and recycling services can be shut down for weeks or even months.”

“The good news? Battery fires are easy to prevent,” the website continued.

As a growing number of stores that sell vape products also include vape disposal bins, vape users have no excuse for not disposing of their used vapes safely.

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