I don't think that prevents a programme to encourage responsible disposal. A $5 deposit on these vapes would get people to return them, and they could be recycled en masse even if it does cost more.
If you attach some sort of rebate to it, I guarantee there will be people who collect them off the ground who don't even vape, like how some do with bottles and cans and scrap metal.
I like the idea of a deposit but you still need someone to accept the waste - point of a deposit is you get it back, so how do you fund the responsible disposal?
Obviously any retailer that sells vapes needs to accept them back for the deposit, and the vape manufacturers need to accept the dead ones which the retailers collect (and pay for whatever shipping is required). The manufacturers then get to decide how to recycle them, but are required to recycle them.
If I were, say, a US state government, I'd fund the recycling just to keep them from polluting. I don't think it's a case of trying to break even, just to reduce the harm done by throwaway electronics/batteries.
