Clark County Public Health campaign focuses on proper disposal of e-cigarettes and vapor devices

If you’re one of the thousands of Washington residents who use e-cigarettes or vaporizers, you’ve probably wondered what to do with your old devices. What you shouldn’t do is throw them in the trash or recycle bin. Clark County Public Health recently launched an education campaign on how to properly dispose of vaporizers and cartridges.

“Vaporizing devices are considered electronic waste or e-waste and hazardous waste. E-waste poses a number of risks to human and environmental health, and the lithium-ion batteries in the devices pose a significant fire risk,” Public Health spokeswoman Marissa Armstrong said Wednesday.

Public Health encourages residents to drop off their old appliances at the county’s three local transfer stations in Vancouver and Washougal. In the spring, the county will hold additional household hazardous waste disposal events in surrounding communities for residents to dispose of their appliances.

“Once the batteries in these devices are removed, they can be dropped off at one of the household battery collection points throughout the county. We are considering adding additional collection points,” Armstrong said.

However, additional sites will only accept batteries, not entire devices or other types of household hazardous waste.

Armstrong said the campaign is part of an effort to educate county residents about disposal of household hazardous waste such as paint, pesticides, solvents and batteries.

“We can also provide messaging and information on specific products that are gaining popularity or present unique challenges for disposal. For example, we provide education on battery disposal because they can pose a significant fire risk when thrown in the trash or recycling carts,” Armstrong said.

The popularity of e-cigarettes, especially disposable devices, continues to grow. While sales data specific to Clark County is not available, sales across the United States have increased from 15.6 million units in February 2020 to 22.9 million units in December 2023. According to the state Department of Health, approximately 4.2% of adults ages 18 and older in Washington (approximately 250,000 people) use a vape device.

“We would like to see them disposed of properly, meaning at an alternative location,” said Derek Ranta of Waste Connections. “There is a battery inside the vaporizer pens that is catching fire in recycling loads and starting fires in our trucks and then in our facilities.”

Ranta said that problems with lithium batteries generally worsen during the hot summer months, and that the problem is not limited to e-cigarette devices.

“We’re seeing this in all kinds of different products now,” he said.

He said a burning football containing a lithium battery recently caught fire at one of Waste Connections’ facilities.

But lithium batteries aren’t the only problem when it comes to vape devices. They often contain liquid nicotine, which can be quite toxic. Nicotine can be easily absorbed through the skin, which can lead to nicotine poisoning. If disposed of improperly, nicotine can leach into soil and groundwater, while lithium batteries can release toxic gases as they deteriorate.

“When devices are improperly disposed of and nicotine reaches waterways, nicotine can also harm fish and other aquatic life,” Armstrong said.

The education campaign isn’t just targeting residents. In addition to messaging on social media and news alerts on the county website, Public Health has also worked with local stores.

“AmeriCorps members working with our department reached out to local retail stores that sold the devices. They educated the retail stores on proper waste disposal and provided businesses with informational brochures that they could share with their customers,” Armstrong said.