Car owner baffled after finding bizarre object in driveway: 'Is this a part of my car?'

One Redditor sought help with some mystery trash they found on their driveway. 

"Found this thing on my driveway," the original poster began. "Is this a part of my car?" 

The included photo shared with the r/mechanics community shows a mangled contraption made of plastic and metal with a few wires poking out. 

The commenters seemed to reach a general consensus that the mystery item was, in fact, a vape. 

"The insides of a vape," observed one person. "Stupidly, most end like this one instead of being recycled (lithium battery and electronics)." 

Electronic waste, like vape pens, can be hard to dispose of properly. Few municipalities have regular e-waste pickup, and most people are not going to spend the time researching where the designated spots are. 

Websites like Recycle by City are trying to help, streamlining the many rules in certain cities around the U.S. For some big cities, the organization provides an easy-to-read map for trash, recycling, and e-waste options. But, for smaller towns, your county likely has some information to share if you do a little digging. 

Vapes, along with other e-waste, are especially worthwhile to recycle because they contain rare earth minerals. These metals are hard to find and cause a tremendous amount of damage to the places where they are mined. 

Science News wrote, "Rare earths are mined by digging vast open pits in the ground, which can contaminate the environment and disrupt ecosystems."

However, there is positive news. As The New York Times reported, "A new study from researchers in China and the Netherlands estimates that reusing or recycling rare earth metals from old cellphones, hard drives, electric motors and turbines could meet as much as 40% of the demand for the metals in the United States, China and Europe by 2050."

What confuses you most about recycling protocol? Which materials I can recycle How clean the material needs to be What the plastic numbers mean Nothing at all Click your choice to see results and speak your mind.

If we are able to collect and recycle materials from old electronics like this discarded vape, it may reduce some of the mining stress on the environment. 

One person noted there are unconventional ways to give these items new life, saying, "There are electronics hobbyists out there that collect them and harvest the lithium cells for their projects."

While someone else found some levity in the situation, joking, "That's a flux capacitor part. You're gonna need that."

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