Old Goat
Administrator
I have a drawer full of dead mods and batteries.
Not a collection. Not a museum. Just the accumulated remains of devices that stopped working and batteries that reached retirement age, waiting for me to find somewhere sensible to take them.
I suspect quite a few of you have the same drawer.
Britain’s Sustainable Vaping Week got me thinking about this. There’s plenty of discussion about collecting dead disposables. Fair enough. We’ve spent years stuffing batteries into products designed to become rubbish.
But where does the rest of our gear go?
What about the box mod with a dead board? The pod device with a built-in battery that no longer holds a charge? The exhausted 18650s and 21700s? The charger that has decided its new function is taking up space?
Apparently, keeping your gear for years can still end with you becoming its unpaid funeral director.
I’m interested in whether that matches your experience.
Can you walk into your local shop with a dead mod and a couple of retired 18650s, or does the recycling service suddenly develop a very specific definition of “vape”?
Then there’s the brand question.
If a shop collects Brand A disposables, will it accept a dead Brand B that it doesn’t sell?
Do you need a receipt? Must you buy something? Does it matter whether the device came from that shop, another country or an online order three years ago?
A battery doesn’t become less of a waste problem because the logo belongs to somebody else.
There are also separate battery take-back rules.
Those are UK arrangements. They don’t tell us what a shop in South Africa, the United States, Australia or anywhere else must accept. That’s precisely why I’d like people from different countries to explain what actually happens at the counter.
There’s a considerable distance between a regulation, a recycling logo and a staff member saying, “Yes, leave it here.”
It includes pods as well as devices. We shouldn’t quietly turn it into six million complete battery-powered disposables because that makes a louder headline.
But it still describes an enormous waste problem.
My preference remains refillable gear that can be maintained and kept working. Eventually, though, even a well-used mod reaches the end. “Buy something reusable” needs to be followed by “and here’s what to do when it finally dies.”
And while we work that out: don’t put devices or loose cells in household rubbish or mixed recycling, and don’t crack open sealed devices to extract their batteries. Ask the collection service how it handles damaged or swollen batteries before taking them in.
How many of us have a drawer full of dead gear because keeping it feels more responsible than throwing it away, but nobody has given us a practical next step?
“Recycle responsibly” is excellent advice.
Now give us a bloody address.
Sources and useful links
Not a collection. Not a museum. Just the accumulated remains of devices that stopped working and batteries that reached retirement age, waiting for me to find somewhere sensible to take them.
I suspect quite a few of you have the same drawer.
Britain’s Sustainable Vaping Week got me thinking about this. There’s plenty of discussion about collecting dead disposables. Fair enough. We’ve spent years stuffing batteries into products designed to become rubbish.
But where does the rest of our gear go?
What about the box mod with a dead board? The pod device with a built-in battery that no longer holds a charge? The exhausted 18650s and 21700s? The charger that has decided its new function is taking up space?
Apparently, keeping your gear for years can still end with you becoming its unpaid funeral director.
“We take disposables” is only part of an answer
The impression I get is that disposable collection gets most of the attention, while old refillable devices and loose batteries are a less straightforward conversation.I’m interested in whether that matches your experience.
Can you walk into your local shop with a dead mod and a couple of retired 18650s, or does the recycling service suddenly develop a very specific definition of “vape”?
Then there’s the brand question.
If a shop collects Brand A disposables, will it accept a dead Brand B that it doesn’t sell?
Do you need a receipt? Must you buy something? Does it matter whether the device came from that shop, another country or an online order three years ago?
A battery doesn’t become less of a waste problem because the logo belongs to somebody else.
What the UK guidance actually says
For our UK members, government guidance describes take-back responsibilities covering reusable and single-use vapes, including parts such as pods, coils and batteries. It is broader than simply putting out a collection box for disposables.There are also separate battery take-back rules.
Those are UK arrangements. They don’t tell us what a shop in South Africa, the United States, Australia or anywhere else must accept. That’s precisely why I’d like people from different countries to explain what actually happens at the counter.
There’s a considerable distance between a regulation, a recycling logo and a staff member saying, “Yes, leave it here.”
Recycling needs instructions that lead somewhere
The Material Focus research linked in the campaign coverage estimates that 6.3 million vapes and pods are discarded or incorrectly recycled weekly in the UK. That figure comes from its March 2026 release, rather than a new October survey.It includes pods as well as devices. We shouldn’t quietly turn it into six million complete battery-powered disposables because that makes a louder headline.
But it still describes an enormous waste problem.
My preference remains refillable gear that can be maintained and kept working. Eventually, though, even a well-used mod reaches the end. “Buy something reusable” needs to be followed by “and here’s what to do when it finally dies.”
And while we work that out: don’t put devices or loose cells in household rubbish or mixed recycling, and don’t crack open sealed devices to extract their batteries. Ask the collection service how it handles damaged or swollen batteries before taking them in.
What works where you live?
Let’s make this thread useful. Tell us:- Your country or region, and the shop or collection service.
- Whether it accepts disposables, refillable mods, built-in-battery devices, loose cells, pods or coils.
- Whether it accepts brands it doesn’t sell.
- Whether you need a purchase, receipt or payment.
- Whether you’ve actually used the service—or been turned away.
How many of us have a drawer full of dead gear because keeping it feels more responsible than throwing it away, but nobody has given us a practical next step?
“Recycle responsibly” is excellent advice.
Now give us a bloody address.
Sources and useful links
- Original report: Sustainable Vaping Week 2026 — Wholesale Manager
- Material Focus: research on discarded vapes and pods, 27 March 2026
- Recycle Vapes: consumer and industry information
- UKVIA: campaign information
- UK government: recycling vapes and retailer take-back
- UK government: battery retailer and distributor responsibilities
- UK product-safety guidance on vape use and disposal