Vape waste has become a surprising problem around the world. Many of these colorful plastic electronic smoking devices are single-use, and as they pile up, they are making public spaces less than friendly.
One Australian TikToker, Finno (@finno.19), went viral for a video showing hundreds of vapes lying around on an off-road racing track.
@finno.19 ♬ Oh Shit I'm Fucked - Small Town Alien
They complained, "Still wondering why 4x4 tracks are getting closed?"
They panned to show even more trash strewn around. What was intended to be a fun place to take your car off-roading had become a glorified landfill.
The land down under is well known for extreme animals and extreme sports, and driving 4x4s around "the bush" is a popular way to explore nature. There are even full publications dedicated to the sport.
While this may not be the most eco-friendly outdoor activity, it's better than indiscriminate littering. According to U.S. Public Interest Research Group, "The proof of vaping's growing popularity is evident in our landfills and litter. … Americans are throwing out 4.5 vapes per second."
Not only are these e-cigarettes themselves trash, but they are also full of dangerous chemicals and rare metals. U.S. PIRG also wrote, "If we stopped wasting the 23.6 tons of lithium contained in disposable vapes, we could create 2,600 batteries for electric vehicles each year."
E-waste can be hard to recycle, but many municipalities have options for proper disposal. MIT reported that mining lithium "releases about 37 tons of CO2 per ton of lithium produced."
Working to improve lithium recycling may go a long way towards reducing the environmental impact of vapes.
As Earth.org reported, "Only 17.4% of documented e-waste was recycled in 2019." While that number is not huge, sending the waste to be processed responsibly "reduces the harmful environmental impacts created by the extraction and mining of virgin materials."
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Definitely 🥰 This TikTok went massively viral, garnering hundreds of comments.
"That looks like an extreme fire hazard," wrote one person.
Another frustrated TikToker said, "Illegal dumping has been an issue for a long time. This does not justify closing off natural areas."
Someone else made a comparison, explaining, "That's like three Tesla batteries worth of lithium."
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