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How to Dispose of a Vape

How to dispose of a vape in Colorado, from Denver's hazardous waste pickup to free county drop-offs and the shops that take old vapes back.

By the VapePenStores teamChecked October 6, 2026Rechecked every monthSources

The short answer

To dispose of a vape, take it to a household hazardous waste program, never the trash or the recycling cart. EPA says lithium batteries in trash and recycling bins often get damaged by compactors and can start fires in garbage trucks and at waste and recycling plants. If your vape's battery comes out, recycle the battery at a battery drop-off and take the rest to hazardous waste.

In Denver, that means the city's $15 at-your-door pickup or a hazardous waste drop-off in Henderson. Boulder County and Larimer County residents can drop vapes off free, and some vape shops take old ones back.

How to Dispose of Disposable Vapes

To dispose of disposable vapes, leave the built-in battery in place and take the whole device to household hazardous waste collection, the option Denver's waste directory gives when a battery can't be removed. Step by step:

  1. Keep it out of the trash, the recycling cart and the compost bin.
  2. Put each vape in its own clear, sealed plastic bag so the battery can't short-circuit, the way EPA tells schools and businesses to store the vapes they collect.
  3. Don't rinse out leftover e-liquid or pour it down the drain, two more don'ts on EPA's list.
  4. Take it to a hazardous waste site or a county vape drop-off, and call ahead about hours and accepted items, as the state health department advises.

Refillable vapes with a removable battery work differently. Take the battery out, tape its ends, and recycle it at a battery drop-off; the pod or tank, which held nicotine, goes to hazardous waste.

Can You Throw Away Disposable Vapes?

You shouldn't throw away disposable vapes with household trash or recycling, and EPA's guidance explains why. Lithium batteries can catch fire, especially when damaged, and in trash and recycling bins they often get damaged by compactors, then can start fires on the truck or at the waste or recycling plant. EPA illustrates the point with a Larimer County photo of a firefighter putting out a lithium battery fire in a pile of recyclables.

EPA counts vapes as hazardous waste because of both the battery and the nicotine, and Denver's waste directory says vape batteries never go in recycling carts.

Where to Dispose of Vapes in Denver

Denver residents can dispose of vapes through the city's household hazardous waste pickup or at two drop-off sites in Henderson. Here's how each one works:

  • At-Your-Door pickup: one appointment per calendar year, a $15 co-payment and one collection bag. You need at least three kinds of accepted materials, or one over 25 pounds, so add the vapes to a cleanout of old paint, cleaners or batteries. Book at 1-800-449-7587 or wmatyourdoor.com. Vapes aren't named on the city's accepted list, so mention them when you book.
  • Clean Harbors, 9775 E. 97th Place, Henderson: open to any Colorado resident with no appointment, Tuesdays and Thursdays from 9 a.m. to 2 p.m. and the third Saturday of each month from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m.
  • Veolia's household hazardous waste center, 9131 E. 96th Avenue, Henderson: by appointment at 303-526-8155.
  • Removable batteries: many metro retailers take them free, and the city points to The Battery Network's locator to find one.

The state says to check ahead on hours and accepted items, and some programs charge a fee. Replacing the vape? Our Denver vape shop listings show the city's shops and their hours.

Vape Disposal Near Me in Colorado

Vape disposal near you in Colorado depends on where you live: the Clean Harbors site in Henderson takes household hazardous waste from any Colorado resident, and several counties run their own programs. On the Front Range:

  • Boulder County, Broomfield and Erie: residents can leave vapes free at 21 Vape Aware drop-off points, including the county's hazardous materials facility at 1901 63rd St. in Boulder, the Allenspark and Nederland transfer stations, and partner shops. They take devices, pods, cartridges, batteries and e-liquid, but not THC devices.
  • Larimer County: the county's household hazardous waste facility at 5887 S. Taft Hill Road takes vapes free from county residents, up to 10 a visit, according to the City of Fort Collins recycling guide.
  • Aurora, Centennial and unincorporated Arapahoe County: residents can book the At Your Door hazardous waste pickup at 1-800-449-7587.

Everywhere else, start with the state health department's county-by-county list of household hazardous waste programs.

Vape Recycling Near Me

Vape recycling near you is harder to find than the search suggests: Boulder County says no standard way to recycle e-cigarettes exists anywhere in the country. An EPA case study of the county's program, published in May 2026, found that most vape batteries are embedded, so the county can't remove them for recycling, and that transportation, shipping and incineration make up about 65 percent of the program's costs. The county's facility took in 13,154 vapes in 2024, up from 7,706 in 2023.

What you can recycle is a removable battery, such as the 18650 cells EPA calls common in e-cigarettes. Tape the ends and take it to any site on The Battery Network's locator; the network, formerly Call2Recycle, says every one of its drop-off sites takes rechargeable batteries.

Does Home Depot Take Vapes?

Home Depot doesn't list vapes among the things its stores recycle. The recycling station at each store's entrance takes rechargeable batteries up to 11 pounds and under 300 watt-hours, dropped in Call2Recycle bins at no charge, Home Depot says.

The Battery Network, the new name of Call2Recycle, says on its FAQ page that it does not accept disposable vapes or e-cigarettes unless the battery can be safely removed and fully separated from the device. So a loose, taped vape battery can go in the bin, but a vape with its battery inside can't. Best Buy and Lowe's are drop-off partners too, under the same rules.

Do Vape Shops Take Back Vapes?

Some vape shops take back vapes, and the list below shows the Colorado shops whose Google listing says they take old vapes for recycling. In Boulder County, more than 20 vape shops have volunteered as Vape Aware collection sites, and the county covers the cost of hauling and incinerating what they collect, because vapes that customers hand back still count as household hazardous waste, according to EPA's case study.

Our Colorado vape shop directory covers 605 vape and smoke shops in 43 cities and the towns between them. If you're replacing the old vape, our guide to which stores sell vapes covers the other places that carry them.

Colorado Vape Shops That Take Old Vapes

Colorado vape shops that take old vapes for recycling number 66 in 24 cities and towns, going by what each shop lists on its Google profile. A listing can be out of date, so call before you bring a bag of them in.

Vape Disposal FAQ

This vape disposal FAQ answers the questions Colorado shoppers ask most.

Is it illegal to throw away disposable vapes?

It isn't illegal under federal law for a household to throw away disposable vapes: EPA's household waste exclusion keeps everyday household trash out of federal hazardous waste rules and leaves it to states and cities. Denver says some batteries are prohibited from its curbside programs, and Colorado's battery law, SB25-163, bars knowingly putting loose or easily removable batteries in trash or recycling from January 1, 2030. That law leaves out embedded batteries, the kind EPA's case study found in most vapes. Businesses are different: EPA treats the vapes they throw out as hazardous waste. Our Colorado vape laws page covers the state's other vape rules.

What should you do with a swollen or leaking vape?

Treat a swollen or leaking vape as damaged: The Battery Network counts swollen and leaking batteries as damaged and says to isolate them in sand or kitty litter and keep them out of the trash, home recycling and its drop-off boxes. Boulder County says to seal a leaking device in a resealable plastic bag. Then call your hazardous waste program before you bring it in.

Keep Reading

Keep reading with these related pages from VapePenStores:

Sources

  1. How to Safely Dispose of E-Cigarettes: Information for Individuals, U.S. EPA (updated January 30, 2026)
  2. How to Safely Dispose of E-Cigarettes: Information for Schools and Small Businesses, U.S. EPA (updated June 16, 2026)
  3. Battery Collection in Action Case Study: Vape Aware, E-Cigarette Collection in Boulder County, Colorado, U.S. EPA (updated May 18, 2026)
  4. Household Hazardous Waste, U.S. EPA (updated June 1, 2026)
  5. Be Cart Smart and Waste Directory, City and County of Denver
  6. Denver Waste Directory entry 'E-Cigarette Cartridge' (ReCollect data feed behind the city directory, checked October 6, 2026)
  7. Household Hazardous Waste At-Your-Door, City and County of Denver (checked October 6, 2026)
  8. Battery Disposal, City and County of Denver (checked October 6, 2026)
  9. Household hazardous waste collection programs, Colorado Department of Public Health and Environment (checked October 6, 2026)
  10. Vape Aware, Boulder County (updated July 6, 2026)
  11. Recycling guide: Larimer County Household Hazardous Waste Facility, City of Fort Collins (checked October 6, 2026)
  12. Drop-off Locations, The Battery Network
  13. FAQs, The Battery Network (updated September 24, 2026)
  14. Damaged and Defective Batteries, The Battery Network
  15. Call2Recycle Is Now The Battery Network, The Battery Network home page
  16. Recycle Rechargeable Batteries at The Home Depot, Eco Actions from The Home Depot (updated April 13, 2026)
  17. SB25-163, Battery Stewardship Programs, Colorado General Assembly (signed June 4, 2025)
  18. SB25-163 as signed, Session Laws of Colorado 2025, chapter 421

This guide is general information for adults 21 and over, not legal advice. Store policies, prices and local programs change, so we recheck it every month and date every change.