The Scottish Government commissioned ACR+ member Zero Waste Scotland to carry out a review of the environmental impact of and potential policy options for improving the management of single-use e-cigarettes, reducing pollution and enhancing the safe recycling of the products they contain. The review estimates that the weight of packaging and materials discarded as a result of single-use e-cigarette consumption in Scotland is currently between 800 and 1 000 tonnes per year. Environmental impacts highlighted by the review include the waste impact of littering, risks associated with unsafe disposal of their contents including lithium batteries and chemicals, and greenhouse gas emissions and water consumption generated in their manufacture. 

  

This report recommends a shortlist of nine high level potential policy options to be considered further by Ministers, from which the Scottish Government may prioritise further policy work to address these environmental impacts. These include setting design criteria for e-cigarettes; requiring that batteries can be removed and be replaced; or charging a deposit for single use e-cigarettes to be refunded on return for recycling.