Passerby shares photo of perplexing trend sweeping city streets: 'They really should be banned'

Disposable vapes create a vast amount of waste, some of it in unexpected ways, as one passerby noticed on their walk through their hometown.

In the r/Ireland subreddit, the original poster shared a photo of a garbage can covered in what at first appears to be an enormous number of stickers, which they identified as being from vape pens.

"Why is every bin now covered with these stickers from disposable vapes?" the OP wondered.

Single-use disposable vape pens have become a ubiquitous fixture in society, with approximately 4.5% of adults using e-cigarettes in 2021, per the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. And an alarming number of younger people — an estimated 1.63 million middle and high school students — use vapes, per The Truth Initiative.

Vape pens pose a different kind of health risk than traditional cigarettes, thanks to the heavy metals such as nickel and lead inhaled through the vapor, according to a study from UC Davis.

Environmentally, vape pens are causing damage in various ways as well. Their lithium-ion batteries pose a fire risk when charging, and few people are recycling the batteries after use, meaning they end up in the trash, or worse, out in the world, where they leach chemicals into the ground and water. 

Then there's the waste issue. As seen by the number of stickers stuck to the garbage can, many vape users don't necessarily abide by anti-littering guidelines, and that's just stickers. People have found plastic vapes out in nature, where animals have attempted to eat them, and people have driven over them and popped their tires on an all-too-regular basis. 

Overall, Americans threw away 5.7 disposable vapes per second in 2023, per the U.S. PIRG Education Fund, contributing to the plastic and e-waste crisis. 

People in the comments were similarly annoyed by the waste generated by vapes, as seen in the OP's photo.

"They really should be banned. No need for them at all. Just needless waste," one person wrote. 

Do you think disposable vapes should be banned nationwide? Definitely 👍 No way 👎 Only in certain stores 🏪 Let each state decide 🗺️ Click your choice to see results and speak your mind.

Another added: "Disposable vapes are now a scourge."

One person attempted to find a silver lining about all the sticker trash, writing: "At least they are using the bins."

Get TCD's free newsletters for easy tips to save more, waste less, and make smarter choices — and earn up to $5,000 toward clean upgrades in TCD's exclusive Rewards Club.