Emily Mooseman warns Clinton County legislators about surge in disposable vapes and waste risks
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Summary
At the April 8 Clinton County Legislature meeting, Emily Mooseman of CTIRD told legislators that local collections show a rapid increase in single-use disposable vapes, high nicotine concentrations and devices that often fall outside existing enforcement channels, creating public-health and hazardous-waste challenges.
Emily Mooseman, community engagement coordinator for CTIRD (the Commercial Tobacco Use Reduction Network serving Clinton, Franklin and Essex counties), told the Clinton County Legislature on April 8 that the local retail and product landscape for nicotine has shifted sharply toward single-use disposable vapes and synthetic-nicotine products.
"These products are high nicotine concentration, inexpensive, heavily marketed, and designed for convenience and rapid consumption," Mooseman said. She told legislators her program has collected about 150 vape devices locally since January and that of 118 devices containing nicotine, none were sold in flavors that are legal under New York State law. "More than 92% of these devices collected were single use disposable vapes," she said.
Mooseman described enforcement and disposal challenges. She said many illicit devices are hidden behind counters or stored off-floor and that synthetic-nicotine products can evade enforcement tools that rely on the word "tobacco" on packaging. She warned of downstream environmental risks, citing lithium-ion batteries and mixed plastics that municipal waste systems cannot easily process and saying the devices present a fire risk in waste and recycling facilities.
To address disposal, Mooseman said CTIRD has placed a vape drop box at Champlain Mall and has worked with local schools and partners to collect devices. She said the group is working with the waste company Casella on potential disposal solutions and expects to engage the public in an upcoming Green Up event in Plattsburgh to raise awareness about proper disposal.
Mooseman emphasized she was presenting observations rather than proposing a specific county policy. "My purpose tonight is not to recommend a specific policy or action, rather to share observations from regional landscape," she said, and offered the group's willingness to provide additional information on request.
The legislature did not take immediate policy action on the presentation during the session. The committee and staff reports that followed continued the agenda of pending resolutions and grant acceptances.
