Latvia Mandates €0.50 Deposit Fee on Disposable Vapes by 2027

Latvia will establish a national deposit-return system for non-rechargeable electronic cigarettes on February 1, 2027. Under draft regulations submitted to the Legal Acts Portal by the Cabinet of Ministers, retailers will collect a €0.50 deposit on every single-use vaping device, which customers can recover via cashless refund after depositing the item into automated collection machines.

How the Vape Deposit Mechanism Works

The system mirrors existing beverage container return models. Participating devices must carry an official deposit mark and a unique machine-readable square code for inventory tracking. Consumers will return exhausted devices to automated intake terminals to claim their refund.

To maximize waste diversion, system operators must configure these machines to accept non-rechargeable devices that lack the machine-readable identifier alongside registered units.

Collection Targets and Infrastructure Costs

The regulation outlines clear collection benchmarks for the designated system operator:

2027 Target: Collect at least 50% of all single-use devices placed on the market between February 1 and December 31, 2027.
2028 Target: Achieve an 80% minimum collection rate starting January 1, 2028.

By January 1, 2028, collection points must be deployed in high-traffic retail locations across every national city and regional administrative center. Industry data estimates that purchasing and installing one collection kiosk costs approximately €25,000 without value-added tax (VAT). Deploying the planned baseline network of 125 units will require roughly €3.125 million without VAT (€3.781 million including VAT), excluding secondary costs for IT integration, counting facilities, and logistics.

Addressing 14 Million Discarded Units

The initiative follows amendments to the Waste Management Law passed by the Saeima in June. The law mandates producers and distributors to contract with the licensed system operator to fund recovery workflows.

A 2024 study conducted by the Latvian Waste Management Association underscored the environmental urgency of the measure. In 2023, approximately 15 million disposable electronic cigarettes were thrown out across the country. Only 5%—around 750,000 units—were segregated for recycling, leaving 14.25 million devices to accumulate in municipal landfills.

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Matthew Ma

Marketing at Ecigator

With over a decade of experience in the e-cigarette industry, Matthew Ma is a seasoned expert in both the manufacturing and usage aspects of vaping products. His extensive background has provided him with a deep understanding of the intricacies and evolving dynamics of e-cigarettes.