Disposable Weed Vapes Are Stacking Up

Annoying as vape cartridges are, disposables are a much bigger scourge on the planet.

March 18, 2025

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Dear Stoner: I've got at least ten disposable vapes with small layers of hash oil left in them, but they're all either dead or clogged. Is there anything to salvage, or should I move on?
B. Major

Dear B. Major: Move on, and don't stop at the empty ones.

I don't like vape cartridges unless the setting demands them. The high isn't the same as smoking weed or taking dabs, and waste from cartridges and lithium batteries is bad for the environment. But as much as vape cartridges annoy me, disposables are a much bigger scourge on the planet. Each time you buy a disposable, that's more plastic and another lithium battery in the landfill. So many disposable vapes are piling up in California that the state might ban them. Sure, most of that trash is from nicotine vapes, but it's all the same hardware.

I cannot deny the convenience of a disposable vape, but please consider a different toking option...after checking if those unclogged leftovers you have were built with a charging port, of course. No sense in wasting a few final rips.

Send questions to [email protected]

Herbert Fuego is the resident stoner at Westword, ready to answer all your marijuana questions.

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