How to dispose of vapes: the US EPA says a used vape or e-cigarette never goes in the household trash or the recycling cart. It holds a lithium battery that can start a fire in a truck or sorting plant and nicotine that is toxic, so take it to a household hazardous waste collection, which is usually free for residents.

Photo: A disposable vape on a plain gray surface. DYVER, 2026-05-25. CC BY-SA 4.0 · Source. Resized for web.

A disposable vape is a sealed battery with a nicotine reservoir. A refillable vape pen splits into a battery, a tank or pod and a bottle of e-liquid. Both kinds end up at the same kind of drop-off; what changes from place to place is whether you are asked to take the battery out first, and whether the empty pod may go in the garbage.

What is true everywhere

  • No trash, no recycling cart. The EPA’s guidance for individuals says not to put e-cigarettes in household trash or recycling: compactors damage the lithium batteries, which then catch fire during transport and at waste and recycling plants, and the nicotine is a risk to workers and to the environment.
  • Bring it to household hazardous waste. The EPA tells consumers to take e-cigarettes to a household hazardous waste (HHW) collection site and notes that these collections are typically free for residents.
  • Households and businesses follow different rules. Federal law treats a vape thrown out at home as household hazardous waste, which the Resource Conservation and Recovery Act exempts from hazardous waste regulation. Vapes that schools, shops and other businesses collect fall under hazardous waste rules instead.
  • Never pour e-liquid down the drain. The EPA lists pouring nicotine e-liquid down the drain among the things collection sites must not do; bring leftover e-liquid in its closed bottle with the device.
  • Leave a built-in battery alone. In its tip sheet for collection sites, the EPA lists trying to remove embedded batteries or cartridges among the things not to do. SF Environment gives residents the same warning.
  • Cannabis vapes are separate. The county programs below that state a rule refuse THC or cannabis vapes at their household drop-offs.

Where it turns local

New York City: five drop-off sites take vape pens

  • In New York City, New York, the Department of Sanitation lists e-cigarettes and vape pens among the items accepted at its five Special Waste Drop-Off sites, one per borough, such as Manhattan (Two Bridges) at 74 Pike Slip and Brooklyn (Greenpoint) at 459 North Henry Street.
  • In its September 16, 2026 release DSNY gives the hours as Tuesday through Saturday, 9 a.m. to 3 p.m.; the sites close on legal holidays and in severe weather and are for city residents only.
  • DSNY’s SAFE Disposal events, held in each borough in the fall, also take e-cigarettes and vape pens.

San Francisco: special handling, never any of the three bins

  • In San Francisco, California, SF Environment says vaping devices go in none of the three bins (landfill, recycling and compost) because they contain a battery, nicotine, flavorings and other chemicals.
  • Residents can take them to the Recology San Francisco Household Hazardous Waste Facility at 501 Tunnel Avenue, (415) 330-1405, or use Recology’s household hazardous waste home collection service. SF Environment also lists three Sports Basement stores as drop-off points.
  • Do not pull a built-in battery out. A damaged, swollen or recalled battery is not accepted at the standard drop-off sites; Recology picks it up free at 415-330-1300. Vapes with cannabis or other controlled substances are refused.

Minneapolis and Hennepin County: battery out first, where you can

  • In Minneapolis, Minnesota, Hennepin County’s Green Disposal Guide recommends removing and recycling the battery first, then putting the device and an empty cartridge in the garbage.
  • The county drop-off facilities, the Bloomington Drop-off Facility and the Brooklyn Park Transfer Station, take cartridges that still hold liquid and e-cigarettes and vape pens whose batteries cannot be removed. They do not accept cannabis vape pens.

How to find your local answer

  1. Check whether the battery comes out. If it does not, the whole device goes to a hazardous waste drop-off as one piece.
  2. Open your city or county page from States & Cities and look under hazardous waste and drop-off sites, or search the drop-off locations catalog for a household hazardous waste site.
  3. If your city lists no permanent site, search your county’s household hazardous waste program; the EPA points residents to their local solid waste agency.

What this is not

  • A loose battery. A battery that unscrews from a refillable pen is a rechargeable battery; tape its ends and follow lithium-ion batteries or household batteries.
  • A medicine take-back. Pharmacy kiosks and drug take-back events are for medicines; see old medication for their rules.
  • A school or shop collection. Vapes confiscated by schools or gathered by a vape shop are business waste under federal and state rules, not household drop-offs.