Volunteer shares video of disturbing trend on city streets: 'Caused this mess'

A volunteer in Eaglescliffe, a small village in England, shared in a TikTok video how everyday litter can compound.

Rebecca (@eaglescliffeclp) takes pride in helping to keep her community looking "clean and tidy," so she was disappointed to see the surface of public trash bins blanketed with disposable vape stickers.

@eaglescliffeclp Noone has made me do this so you might wonder why I've chosen to take on the battle as a volunteer! 🤪 But if I do litter picking and leave our bins like this it's half a job. Clean and tidy streets result in less mess. Disposable vapes haven't just caused a huge amount of hazardous litter in the form of batteries and plastic, they've also caused this mess with stickers. Today marks the beginning of the end of this form of mess. Rechargeable vapes will still mean some litter, but there will be a signifiant reduction in waste. 🤩 #vapeban #litter #rubbish #bins #volunteer #litterpicking #cleanstreets #lovewhereyoulive #keepbritaintidy ♬ original sound - touchoffunk

"Disposable vapes haven't just caused a huge amount of hazardous litter in the form of batteries and plastic, they've also caused this mess with stickers," Rebecca said in the caption.

The video was posted in June, just as the United Kingdom implemented its long-anticipated ban on single-use vapes, a response to a mounting waste problem.

At first glance, the stickers seem like a minor eyesore, but they represent a larger problem. Disposable vapes are designed to be easy — use them once, toss them out, and move on. The problem is that people are tossing them out in alarming numbers: Prior to the ban, about 5 million of them every single week in the U.K. alone, as reported by the BBC.

Research also found that only 17% of vapes were discarded properly. Vapes that are improperly disposed of can lead to fires in waste treatment facilities. One waste management facility reported having one fire per day across the U.K. that was caused by vapes, per the BBC.

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Nevertheless, the ban on disposable vapes is meant to help stop this waste at its source. Shops can no longer sell single-use vapes, and they're expected to offer take-back programs so reusable ones can be disposed of properly. It's a solid step in the right direction, but a new law doesn't magically clean up what's already out there.

People like Rebecca who help clean up their communities actually make an impact, and the ban left her feeling hopeful: "Rechargeable vapes will still mean some litter, but there will be a significant reduction in waste."

Tossing things in the right bin, choosing reusable products, or even just picking up something that isn't yours can make a real difference.

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