A group in the United Kingdom has been helping war-torn Ukraine by transforming potentially serious environmental hazards into vital sources of energy, the BBC reported. 

Volunteer workers for the Leeds Ukrainian Community Association have been collecting used vapes and sending the batteries to Ukraine, where they are being used to power drones and lights and to provide heat for cooking, per the BBC. 

"It is a creative way to use these vapes," said Viacheslav Semeniuk, a trustee for LUCA, according to the BBC. "We crack open the vape and pull out the battery, isolate the wires, and pack them into boxes." 

The work highlighted how the group's efforts have evolved since the war in Ukraine began in 2022. 

"At the start of the war, we were focused on helping Ukrainians abroad and in Leeds, but now most of our efforts go toward supporting those in the country," explained Semeniuk, per the BBC.

The program also has placed a spotlight on the environmental threat that millions of discarded vapes, many of which contain lithium-ion batteries, pose to the environment. 

According to Materials Focus, a U.K.-based nonprofit, 8.2 million vapes are discarded every week. That averages out to 13 vapes thrown away each second. 

These discarded vapes contain hazardous materials like lead, mercury, and flame retardants, which can contaminate soil and water, according to a 2023 study published in the journal Tobacco Prevention & Cessation.

"The use of e-cigarettes has grown in popularity worldwide," the study's authors summarized. "From their manufacturing, use, and disposal, the environmental impacts of e-cigarettes present a novel public health concern that needs to be urgently investigated."

In a separate report from 2022, Materials Focus found that one year's worth of discarded vapes contained a cumulative total of 44 tons of lithium, enough to power 5,000 electric vehicles. 

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Discarded vape batteries also pose a significant threat of fire. In 2023, discarded lithium-ion batteries sparked more than 1,200 fires in garbage cans, dumpsters, and waste disposal sites across the U.K., an increase of 71% over just one year prior, according to a 2024 report by Materials Focus. 

While the environmental and public health benefits of reusing discarded vape batteries are clear, for the members of LUCA, their work has a different priority. 

"I feel some kind of guilt that I am not there, fighting on the front line," Semeniuk, the LUCA trustee, told the BBC. "But I cannot leave my family here." 

Still, his group has found a unique, creative way to help both the environment and their fellow Ukrainians. 

"If we utilize whatever is not needed any more and make it for free, why not?" he asked, per the BBC. 

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