Every festival season ends with a familiar sight: rows of abandoned tents scattered across trampled fields. In 2019, the Association of Independent Festivals estimated that around 250,000 tents were left behind at UK festivals each year. But while abandoned tents are easy to spot, smaller items can go unnoticed. A discarded vape tucked into a pocket, tote bag or sleeping bag might seem harmless, but its lithium-ion battery can pose a fire risk if it ends up in the wrong bin.
What UK Adults Said About Vape Batteries
According to übbs’ vape waste research, which surveyed 1,001 adults across the UK, 62 percent know that a disposable vape contains a battery. Even so, 56 percent said they had never really thought about what happens to it once the device is thrown away. Knowing a battery is there and deciding where it should go are two separate things.
The gap shows up in behaviour too. Asked what they would actually do with a used vape, only 31 percent said they would take it to a proper recycling point. Another 30 percent would put it in general waste and 16 percent in household recycling, which means 46 percent would dispose of it incorrectly.
The survey did not ask about festivals, so these are UK-wide figures rather than measurements from a campsite. They do however describe the gap a festival has to work with: plenty of people who know there is a battery inside and have not yet decided where it goes.
Where the Survey Found the Biggest Gaps
Scotland recorded the highest proportion of respondents who said they would take a used vape to a recycling point, at 45 percent. It is home to festivals such as TRNSMT at Glasgow Green and Belladrum in the Highlands. In South West England, where Glastonbury and Bristol’s Love Saves the Day take place, the figure was 20 percent, and a third of respondents said they were not sure what they would do.
Awareness of the battery itself varied as well. It was highest in Northern Ireland, at 75 percent, and lowest in Northern England, at 57 percent. That is the region that hosts Leeds Festival at Bramham Park and Creamfields in Cheshire.
What Festivals Are Already Doing
Several festivals moved on this before the disposable ban arrived. In 2023, Glastonbury asked attendees not to bring disposable vapes, saying they pollute the environment and can be hazardous at waste centres. The British Metals Recycling Association urged other festivals to follow, citing the fire risk from lithium-ion batteries. Love Saves the Day has also participated in vape recycling initiatives, including Material Focus’s 2025 campaign.
In summer 2025, Material Focus installed 81 pink vape recycling tubes across festival sites and campsites, at events including Boomtown, Truck, Latitude, Download, Love Saves the Day, Creamfields and Reading and Leeds. It has invited more festivals to take part in 2026.
Although Material Focus has reported on the number of recycling tubes installed and the festival-goers reached, its published summary did not give a total for the number of vapes collected. That makes it difficult to establish the scale of vape waste at UK festivals or how much of it is being successfully recycled. With Material Focus inviting more festivals to join its campaign in 2026 and beyond, there is scope for that picture to become clearer.
Why the Battery Is the Part That Matters
A vape is an electrical product. If its lithium-ion battery is crushed or damaged in a bin lorry or sorting facility, it can short circuit and start a fire. In May 2024, Material Focus reported a 71 percent rise in battery-related waste fires, from around 700 in 2022 to more than 1,200 over the previous 12 months. Separately, Veolia reported in November 2025 that a fire ignites at one of its UK facilities or in one of its vehicles every day.
There is a resource cost as well. Material Focus estimates that the vapes thrown away each year contain enough lithium to power nearly 5,000 electric vehicles. A festival site produces a lot of waste in a short space of time, which is exactly when a stray battery is hardest to catch.
The Ban Reduced Waste, It Did Not End It
The sale of single-use vapes was banned in the UK on 1 June 2025. However, research published by Material Focus in March 2026 found that approximately 6.3 million vapes and pods were still being thrown away or incorrectly recycled each week, down from 8.2 million in 2024. That is still roughly 10 devices every second.
Pre-ban devices are still in circulation, and the market has moved towards rechargeable pods that contain the same type of battery. Material Focus’s guidance for festival teams warns that disposables will keep reaching sites after the ban. übbs commissioned its survey to see how the ban has changed public habits, and it also found that many people struggle to tell a legal vape from an illegal one.
What a Festival-Goer Can Do
If the festival has dedicated vape recycling tubes or bins, use them. If it does not, take the device home rather than leaving it in a tent or putting it in general waste. Under the UK’s Waste Electrical and Electronic Equipment regulations, retailers selling vapes must provide a take-back service for used vapes and vape parts, including batteries. Many household waste recycling centres also accept vapes, although it is worth checking local council guidance before visiting. Never try to remove a built-in battery.
The survey also shows what people say would help. A cash-back or deposit scheme was the top answer at 33 percent, followed by more recycling points in shops at 31 percent. Festivals already have an audience in one place for a few days, which makes visible, convenient collection points a realistic fix.
Packing Out More Than the Tent
For adult nicotine consumers weighing up alternatives to vaping, nicotine pouches such as those made by übbs contain no battery or electronic components, so the lithium-ion issue does not apply. Used pouches and their packaging still need to be disposed of responsibly.
A tent is hard to leave by accident. A dead vape is easy to forget, so it is worth deciding where it goes before the packing starts. Tent, chair, sleeping bag, vape: all of it comes home or goes in the right bin.
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