Vaping can somewhat help you to quit smoking. However, at the same time, it raises the environmental impact issues.
Popular disposable vape brands like Lost Mary, Elf Bar, and Geek Bar are available in supermarkets, corner shops, and vape retailing machines at bars and nightclubs. However, limited consumption, plastic bodies, and lithium batteries significantly contribute to gathering non-decomposable waste.
Let’s get into a deep discussion on this sparking debate, realize the gravity of this issue, and consider what steps we can take to establish a better disposable vape practice.
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Vape pens designed for one-time usage employ the same renewable lithium-ion cells used in smartphones and electric vehicles. Unlike conventional vapes, the key difference is that they are meant to be discarded after use. You can recharge some of them with a USB wire but can’t replace them once the e-liquid inside runs out. Disposable vapes have a bigger effect on the earth, so there needs to be a way to dispose of them properly.
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Let’s Look At The Vape Waste Statistics
Electronic trash, or e-waste, is anything that uses energy or has a battery inside. It is the type of trash that is growing the fastest on Earth. Even though electronic waste only makes up 2 percent of all trash in the US, 66 percent of heavy metals in dumps come from it. The US makes more than 7.6 million tonnes of electrical waste every year.
Although the vape business is expected to grow at a CAGR of 31% from now until 2030, the rate at which vape trash could also grow is terrifying.
As a “major contributor” to total electronic trash, the United Nations says vape e-waste is a growing problem.
According to projections by the CDC Foundation, a year’s worth of disposable vapes would cover enough ground to double the length of the continental United States.
Many consumers just dispose of these items in the trash, as no universally accepted legal recycling method exists. According to a U.S. PIRG Education Fund study, the average American discards 4.5 disposable e-cigarettes per second.
Only 17% of those asked said they used a regular trash bin, while 51% said they just threw away used e-cigarette pods or other disposables.
According to a 2020 study by the Truth Initiative, 10% of people said they just throw e-cigarette pods onto the ground because they aren’t made for e-cigarette trash.
Nearly half of the youth population is still determining how to dispose of used pods and other disposable devices properly.
The Environmental Impact Of Disposable Vapes On The Environment
More than just making more plastic trash, disposable e-cigarettes hurt the earth in other ways. The battery, plastic chassis, and other electrical parts usually inside make recycling them a real challenge.
If you throw away disposable vapes incorrectly, harmful chemicals and metallic elements could get into the groundwater and rivers.
Disposable Vapes Contain Lithium And Nicotine
Along with the e-waste from their electronics and lithium-ion batteries, these devices are also dangerous trash because they contain nicotine.
You can’t recycle vape garbage with conventional plastics because nicotine e-liquid is classified as an acutely harmful chemical by the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA).
Nicotine juice from e-cigarettes can easily be taken through the skin. This makes nicotine poisoning more likely. Due to excessive consumption of nicotine, any animal can face illnesses like breathing difficulties, fainting, or convulsions. So, it’s very lethal to fish and other aquatic creatures.
Moreover, broken lithium batteries may explode. Disposing lithium batteries in municipal rubbish and recycling bins poses a fire threat and makes them vulnerable to harm from trash compactors.
An article in the American Journal of Public Health from 2018 noted that of the many types of e-cigarettes, disposables have the greatest potential environmental impacts due to their shorter usage durations compared to refillable devices. All of these things point to the reality that stricter laws on single-use vapes are desperately needed to stop a potential environmental catastrophe.
Trying To Resolve The Problem
There are no current plans to recycle disposable electronic cigarettes in the US. More importantly, there isn’t much information about properly disposing of e-cigarettes and their parts.
The waste management and recycling centers are unprepared to deal with the increased volume of electronic cigarette rubbish due to its dangerous nature and difficulty sorting.
The Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) started taking e-cigarette devices and refills on their yearly National Prescription Take Back Day in 2019. However, the DEA can’t take devices with lithium-ion batteries.
The federal government only has limited advice on how to properly dispose of e-cigarettes that are charged and have parts that can be taken off. The Food and Drug Administration has warned those who use electronic cigarettes not to dispose of their devices, e-liquid, or pods in the regular garbage. Instead, they should take these items to designated hazardous waste sites and send the batteries to approved recycling centers.
Disposing of Disposal Vape Properly
Now you know the environmental impact of disposable vapes. Before your next e-cigarette disposal, try to follow these tips:
- Disposable vapes should not be thrown in the garbage or recycle bin. Damaged lithium batteries can be a fire threat.
- There is a designated spot for home hazardous garbage, so bring your e-cigarettes there.
Household hazardous trash collection programs are available in many municipalities and counties. You can find out when and where your area’s solid waste service collects home hazardous garbage through internet research.
In most cases, households do not pay to have their hazardous garbage picked up. With proper management, electronic cigarettes won’t cause fires or release dangerous chemicals into the air.
Disclaimer: This article contains sponsored marketing content. It is intended for promotional purposes and should not be considered as an endorsement or recommendation by our website. Readers are encouraged to conduct their own research and exercise their own judgment before making any decisions based on the information provided in this article.
