For tobacco manufacturers, retailers, municipalities and waste-management operators, that shift raises questions about product design, collection systems and who should cover disposal costs.
The Surfrider Foundation’s 2025 Beach Cleanup Report found that volunteers collected 196,283 cigarette butts during the year. Butts represented almost one-quarter of all cataloged items. When vaping devices, nicotine pouches, lighters and tobacco packaging were added, tobacco-related products made up 25% of the more than 800,000 items documented.
More than 34,000 volunteers took part in 1,058 cleanup events, removing approximately 338,000 pounds of waste. The findings are based on Surfrider cleanup locations and should not be treated as a comprehensive national litter survey. They do, however, offer a snapshot of the products repeatedly reaching beaches and coastal waterways.
Disposable vapes present a different set of end-of-life challenges than conventional cigarette waste. A single device can contain plastic, metal, electronic circuitry, a lithium battery and residual nicotine. These materials are combined in a low-cost product that consumers may place in household trash, recycling containers or public litter bins.
Figures cited in the Surfrider report estimate that 500,000 disposable vaping devices are discarded in the United States each day. Because many devices contain batteries and unused nicotine, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency may regulate discarded vapes as hazardous waste, depending on how they are generated and managed.
The devices can also create operational problems for recycling and waste facilities. Lithium batteries may be crushed or damaged during collection and processing, increasing the risk of fires. At the same time, municipal hazardous-waste programs are not always convenient for consumers disposing of a single vape.
Nicotine pouches are emerging as another concern. Surfrider reported that pouch sales increased 641% over a four-year period. Used pouches may retain up to 63% of their original nicotine, meaning discarded products can continue to release the chemical after use.
When pouches are left on beaches or enter waterways, that remaining nicotine may affect aquatic organisms. Their small size can also make them difficult to recover once they mix with sand, soil or other debris.
Cigarette filters remain a persistent issue as well. Most filters contain cellulose acetate, a form of plastic that breaks into smaller particles rather than fully biodegrading. Surfrider cited estimates that 4.5 trillion cigarette butts are littered worldwide each year. The organization also linked tobacco waste to approximately $25.7 billion in annual public costs, including cleanup spending and lost ecosystem services.
The findings come as regulators take a broader look at products that are difficult or expensive to manage after disposal. Plastic accounted for 85% of the items collected through Surfrider’s 2025 cleanup program, while nine of the 10 most frequently recovered products contained plastic.
Fragments smaller than a dime represented roughly one-quarter of all cataloged litter. That figure shows how packaging, filters and other consumer products can break down over time, making removal more difficult and contributing to microplastic pollution.
Surfrider uses cleanup data to support policies targeting products that regularly appear in coastal environments. Earlier findings have been used in campaigns involving plastic bags, automatically distributed food-service accessories and cigarette filters.
The organization reported that plastic bag litter declined by between 25% and 47% in locations that introduced bans or fees. Similar policy tools could increasingly be applied to nicotine products.
Santa Cruz County, California, has adopted a ban on cigarette filter sales. California lawmakers have also considered limits on disposable vaping products. Other jurisdictions, including Maine and the European Union, have explored or implemented producer-responsibility models that require tobacco companies to contribute to waste-management and cleanup costs.
For manufacturers, these developments may lead to closer scrutiny of product materials, disposal instructions and take-back programs. Retailers could also face new collection or consumer-education requirements, while waste operators may need processes designed specifically for devices containing lithium batteries and residual nicotine.
Several practical issues remain unresolved. Collection systems must be accessible enough for consumers to use, but they also require funding, safe storage and clear responsibility across manufacturers, retailers and local governments. Product labeling may help, although disposal instructions alone are unlikely to solve the problem when approved collection points are limited.
The report indicates that tobacco waste is no longer primarily a cigarette-butt issue. As disposable vapes and nicotine pouches gain a larger share of the nicotine market, regulators are likely to pay more attention to what happens after those products are used.
Businesses across the tobacco and vaping supply chain may therefore need to prepare for tighter disposal rules, expanded producer-responsibility requirements and greater pressure to reduce products that create persistent or hazardous waste.
