Latvia plans €0.50 deposit on disposable e-cigarettes

Latvia plans to introduce a €0.50 deposit on every electronic smoking device whose battery cannot be recharged. This is set out in a draft Cabinet of Ministers regulation on the operation of a deposit system for such devices, submitted for coordination on the legal acts portal. The system is due to start on 1 February 2027 and aims to increase the collection of used e-cigarettes.

How the system would work

The seller will collect the deposit from the buyer. The buyer can get the money back as a cashless payment after returning the used device to a deposit collection machine. Devices in the system must carry a special mark showing the deposit applies, as well as a unique machine-readable QR code for tracking.

The system operator must ensure the machines accept not only deposit-system devices but also non-rechargeable e-cigarettes without a machine-readable identifier.

Collection points are to be placed in retail locations with heavy customer traffic, at least one in each state city and each municipal administrative centre. This requirement will apply in full from 1 January 2028.

Collection targets and costs

From 1 February 2027 to the end of that year, the operator must collect at least 50% of deposit devices placed on the market; from 1 January 2028 the target rises to at least 80%.

According to industry information, buying and installing one machine could cost about €25,000 excluding VAT, and at least 125 machines are planned. Initial investment in machines alone would therefore be provisionally €3.125 million excluding VAT, or €3.781 million with VAT. This excludes IT systems, record-keeping, a logistics centre and other running costs.

Earlier decision and background

In June the Saeima, Latvia's parliament, adopted amendments to the Waste Management Law providing for a single national deposit system for these devices. Producers and distributors will have to sign a contract with the system operator.

A 2024 study by the Latvian Waste Management Companies Association found that about 15 million e-cigarettes were discarded in Latvia in 2023. Around 750,000, or 5%, were collected separately and handed to recyclers, while the remaining 14.25 million mostly ended up in household waste landfills.