California will ban the sale of disposable nicotine vapes starting in 2027, a move to prevent vape-related fires and reduce litter. Gov. Gavin Newsom signed the new law, AB 762, on Monday.
The law bans the import or manufacture of new or refurbished battery-embedded disposable nicotine vapes in the state after Jan. 1, 2027. It also bans their sale by Jan. 1, 2028.
Vapes have gotten increasing attention in the waste and recycling industry in recent years, as they are reported to be a significant cause of facility fires due to the lithium-ion batteries inside. The small devices are difficult to identify and remove from tipping floors and processing equipment.
Vape-related fire risk has only increased with the popularity of single-use models, industry groups said. At the same time, the waste industry has grappled with how to handle vapes at the end of their life, as few practical options currently exist.
“This is a win for the firefighters, local governments, and ratepayers who have been footing the bill for the lithium-ion battery fires all this time. The waste system shouldn't have to clean up after an industry's design choices," said Tony Hacket, a policy associate for Californians Against Waste, a co-sponsor of the bill.
Assemblymember Jacqui Irwin sponsored the bill alongside CAW and the California Product Stewardship Council, California Public Interest Research Group and Rethink Waste. The bill also had broad support from the Resource Recovery Coalition of California, haulers and area sanitation districts.
Irwin said disposable vapes are detrimental to California’s environment because the devices are not readily recyclable, leading them to be “haphazardly thrown away after limited use,” she said in a statement.
Groups like CalPIRG also oppose single-use vapes because the devices use valuable materials such as copper wire and lithium, which “not only require environmentally destructive mining operations to extract, but also could instead be used for longer-lasting and more socially beneficial devices,” such as electric vehicle batteries, the group said in a statement.
“We shouldn’t tolerate electronic devices that are designed to be unrepairable and disposable,” said Meghan Smith, PIRG’s New Economy associate organizing director, in a statement. “These devices have similar components to a smartphone. Imagine if you had to throw away your phone every time the battery ran out."
Bill supporters said the new law will also prompt the vape industry to focus on building rechargeable, refillable devices, since those will still be legal to sell after January 2028.
Gov. Newsom also signed a separate vape-related bill, AB 2667, which calls for the state’s Department of Toxic Substances Control to look into better ways to properly dispose of vape pens, particularly those confiscated from schools.
Schools are confiscating vapes but don’t often have safe ways to manage and dispose of the devices, said the bill’s supporters, which also include National Stewardship Action Council, Californians Against Waste, California Product Stewardship Council, Republic Services, Recology, RethinkWaste and the Resource Recovery Coalition of California.
In April, Maine became the first state in the country to establish an extended producer responsibility program for vapes.
