The Irish Waste Management Association (IWMA) has called for a deposit return scheme for vapes.
It says fires caused by batteries in bin lorries or at recycling centres cost its members €50m last year.
The association says most of these fires were caused by lithium batteries contained in vapes.
IWMA Secretary Conor Walsh said when vapes break they "start fires".
"So we've got, we believe, 30 million vapes coming into our waste pool, and we should have zero," he said.
Mr Walsh said that although the vapes can be recycled for free at civic centres and shops that sell electrical goods, the vast majority of vapes are not recycled.
"The idea is that the vapes should all go back to the vape shops.
"They should be collected by the people who put them on the market and be recycled, and that's their responsibility. Unfortunately, that's not happening."
Mr Walsh said he is not proposing a scheme like the one introduced for plastic bottles which relies on reverse vending machines.
"That can be simple as, if you buy a new vape, you pay price X. If you buy a new vape and you bring back an old one, you pay €5 less.
"So the price should be based on you bringing back a vape, and when you bring it back, that's fine, but you pay €5 more if you don't."
Mr Walsh said he does not expect that legislation to ban single use vapes, which is expected to come into force later this year, would fix the problem.
He said the ban is based on a ban brought in for the UK last year.
The response by the vaping industry there, Mr Walsh said, has been to sell vapes that have replaceable prefilled nicotine pods and rechargeable batteries.
"Those are more dangerous to us because they will have a rechargeable battery, and when they're disposed with the battery charged, that's more dangerous to us.
"We might only get five or six million of them a year, as opposed to the 30 million we're getting currently.
"But individually, they're much more dangerous and much more likely to start fires, and that's what they experienced in the UK. They had an increase in fires after that."
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The minister responsible for the legislation to ban single use vapes has responded to criticism that the ban in Ireland would not be effective if it is modelled on the UK law.
Minister of State at the Department of Health Jennifer Murnane O'Connor said: "Ultimately, we want far fewer vapes in use and circulation and an important part of this is making it easy and safe for them to be disposed of. I am concerned about the comments regarding the UK experience."
On the call for a deposit return scheme for vapes she said it is a matter for the Department of Climate, Energy and Environment.
A spokesperson for that department said: "Vapes and vaping devices must be safely disposed of, after use. They should not be placed in household waste or recycling bins. Companies placing these devices on the market must join an authorised Extended Producer Responsibility (EPR) body - like WEEE Ireland or ERP Ireland - and pay fees for collection and recycling. These schemes facilitate the take-back of these waste items at no cost to the consumer."
