How Wybone’s anti-stick paint is tackling Britain’s vape sticker litter crisis

The rise of disposable vapes over the past few years has left a lasting mark on the UK’s high streets. Cheap and colourful devices like Elf Bar and Lost Mary exploded in popularity between 2022 and 2024, with millions sold each week. Alongside growing health concerns, they also created a new form of litter, with an estimated five million single-use vapes thrown away every seven days. As the environmental cost mounted, so did the urgency for action.

On 1 June 2025, the UK introduced a nationwide ban on disposable vapes, making it illegal to sell or supply them anywhere in the country. The move is designed to protect young people from addiction and to stem the tide of lithium-filled waste ending up in public bins and landfill. While refillable vapes remain legal, the era of throwaway vapes is officially over. What remains, however, is a more unexpected problem — the stickers they leave behind.

The vape sticker epidemic

Alongside the disposable vape trend came a strange and uniquely modern behaviour. Each device comes with a small tamper-proof sticker, typically found over the mouthpiece or base, designed to seal in the e-liquid before use. Once removed, users are not throwing the sticker in the bin. They are sticking it on the bin instead. From student areas in Manchester to city centres across the UK, public litter bins have become plastered with a patchwork of brand labels and flavour logos, often layered over anti-litter signage.

This is not an isolated issue. A 2024 article by The Face documented a “sticker hunt” through Manchester’s Northern Quarter and Fallowfield, highlighting bins so completely covered in Lost Mary stickers that the original paintwork was no longer visible. Councils like Glasgow have had to deploy street cleaning teams to scrape off the residue, costing time and labour that could be better spent elsewhere. The problem has grown so widespread that it now appears in towns and cities across the country, with social media footage capturing volunteers physically removing sticker build-up by hand.

As an expert member of the Keep Britain Tidy Network, Wybone is acutely aware of the damage this causes. Keep Britain Tidy figures show that over one million disposable vapes were discarded each week throughout 2023 and 2024. Each one came with a sticker, and each one contributed to the growing issue of visual litter across the public realm. While some forms of waste can be picked up, this trend has created a situation where the bins themselves are the canvas, often defaced in plain sight.

The ban is in, but will the stickers stop

With the ban now in effect, the supply of new stickers will gradually taper off. However, old habits and old stock will take time to disappear. Bins in nightlife areas, parks, and student quarters are likely to continue seeing sticker litter for months to come. The risk is that the problem will quietly persist unless a proactive, preventative approach is taken. At Wybone, we believe enforcement is only half the solution. If left solely to retailers and Trading Standards, sticker pollution could remain an unsightly side effect of a now-banned product. But with the right tools, councils can take direct steps to stop it at source.

Meet Vape-away, the paint that stops stickers from sticking

Wybone has developed a new paint specifically for this purpose. Vape-away is a high-performance, textured anti-stick coating originally designed for armoured military vehicles. Now applied to the lids of our most popular public litter bins, it prevents stickers from adhering, meaning vape labels and graffiti decals simply cannot take hold.

The decision to apply Vape-away only to the lid is deliberate. This is where stickers are most commonly placed, and where they cause the most visual damage. By targeting the lid surface, Vape-away delivers a clean, long-lasting finish without altering the appearance or function of the rest of the bin. It is a subtle upgrade, but a powerful deterrent.

With maintenance costs rising and street teams under pressure, Vape-away helps councils stay ahead of post-ban sticker litter. It is built for the exact conditions bins face every day, offering durability, weather resistance, and an instant reduction in surface defacement. As more local authorities look for practical ways to support the new legislation, Vape-away provides a ready-made option to protect both budgets and the public realm.

Want to stop sticker litter before it sticks

Explore Wybone’s range of Vape-away coated litter bins, or speak to our team today about upgrading your existing units with anti-stick technology. We are proud to support Keep Britain Tidy, and we are committed to helping clean up the legacy of disposable vaping, one bin at a time.