Every Hayati device is waste electrical equipment at the end of its life, and it must be recycled rather than binned. A Hayati device holds a lithium battery, a heating coil and a circuit board. Lithium batteries crushed inside a bin lorry start fires, and hundreds of waste-truck and recycling-plant fires across the UK each year trace back to batteries thrown into general waste. This page covers how to return a Hayati device free of charge, where else to recycle one, and how to prepare it safely.
A vape, a pod or a battery never goes in a household bin, and never goes in a kerbside recycling box either. Both routes send lithium cells into machinery that crushes them.
Why a Hayati device cannot go in the household bin
Vapes fall under the Waste Electrical and Electronic Equipment Regulations, which cover any product carrying a battery or a plug. Vaping devices now hold a dedicated WEEE classification of their own in the United Kingdom, reflecting how quickly the waste stream has grown.
Three components create the problem, and each one is lost when a device reaches landfill.
Lithium battery
Ignites when punctured or crushed. This is the fire risk.
Circuit board
Holds recoverable metals, including copper.
Plastic body
Needs separating before either of the other two can be processed.
What the crossed-out wheeled bin symbol means
The crossed-out wheeled bin symbol means the product must not enter general waste. Every Hayati device carries it, printed on the packaging or on the device body. The symbol is a legal marking under the WEEE Regulations rather than a suggestion, and it covers the device, the pods and the battery sealed inside.
How to recycle a Hayati device with Hayati Pro
Hayati Pro trades online and holds no physical shop, so take-back runs by post. Returning a device costs you nothing, and it applies whether or not you buy a replacement.
[CONFIRM: TAKE-BACK ROUTE, REPLACE THIS BLOCK BEFORE PUBLISHING]
This block must state the free take-back route Hayati Pro actually operates. Replace it with either a free prepaid postal returns label issued on request, or membership of a named vape take-back scheme with published drop-off points, plus the name of the licensed waste carrier.
UK law requires an online vape retailer to provide a free take-back route and to communicate it clearly at the point of sale. Publishing this page without a working route advertises a service the store does not run.
Request a return in three steps.
- Email the team. Send a message to hayatiproshopify@hotmail.com with the subject line "Vape recycling" and your postal address.
- Receive a free label. A prepaid returns label arrives by email, [CONFIRM: label provider and turnaround].
- Post the device. Pack the device, the pods and the packaging into a padded envelope, attach the label, and post it.
Returned devices pass to a licensed waste carrier for treatment at an approved facility, [CONFIRM: named carrier or scheme]. Every return is logged, because UK law requires retailers to record the volume of vape waste they take back.
Where else to recycle a vape in the UK
Four routes accept vape waste, and every one of them is free to the public.
Household waste recycling centres
Council recycling centres accept small electricals, and most now hold a separate container for vapes. Find your nearest one through your local council website.
Vape shop take-back points
UK retailers that sell vapes accept used vapes back free of charge, whether or not you buy anything. Look for the collection tube on the counter.
Supermarket battery points
Battery collection bins in supermarkets take loose batteries removed from a device, not a whole sealed vape.
Local authority collections
Some councils run a kerbside small-electricals collection on request. Check your council website for the local arrangement.
How to prepare a device for recycling
Prepare a Hayati device in four steps.
- Remove the pod. Take it out of the device and set it aside for separate recycling.
- Empty and rinse. Drain any remaining e-liquid from a refillable pod, then rinse it with water.
- Tape the port. Cover the charging port with a strip of insulating tape, which stops the terminals shorting in transit.
- Pack it properly. Place the device in a padded envelope or a small box rather than loose in a bag.
Prising a battery out of a sealed vape punctures the cell and starts a fire. Recycle the device whole, and leave battery separation to the treatment facility.
Recycling pods, coils and e-liquid bottles
Different parts take different routes, and separating them raises the amount actually recovered.
| Item | Route | Preparation |
|---|---|---|
| Device with battery | Vape take-back or recycling centre | Tape the charging port, do not dismantle |
| Prefilled or refillable pod | Vape take-back or recycling centre | Empty and rinse, keep separate from the device |
| Integrated mesh coil | Vape take-back or recycling centre | Recycle inside the pod, the coil is not separable |
| Empty e-liquid bottle | Kerbside plastics recycling | Rinse it, keep the cap on, check your council rules |
| Cardboard packaging | Kerbside card recycling | Flatten the box |
What happens to a recycled Hayati device
Approved treatment facilities take vapes apart under controlled conditions. Batteries are discharged and sent for lithium recovery. Circuit boards are stripped for copper and other metals. Plastics are separated by type and reprocessed. Residual e-liquid is treated as chemical waste rather than washed into drains.
Recovery only happens when the device reaches the right facility. A vape dropped into a general waste bin reaches an incinerator or a landfill site, and its lithium, its copper and its plastic are lost.
Buying with recycling in mind
Single-use disposable vapes have been illegal to sell in the United Kingdom since 1 June 2025, and the waste from throwing away a whole device after a few days was central to the case for banning them. Hayati Pro stocks rechargeable and refillable devices only. A device kept for months with replacement pods generates a fraction of the waste a stream of disposables produced.
Questions about a return, a device fault or a replacement pod sit on the Hayati vape FAQ, or go straight to hayatiproshopify@hotmail.com.
Send your old Hayati back, free
Email the team with your address and a prepaid recycling label comes back to you.
Request a recycling label