Vaping Devices Create Technical Waste. Here’s How to Reduce It.

We all know that the environment isn’t in a great state right now. Enacting real, lasting change is going to require the participation of the world’s governments and major corporations, but that doesn’t mean we can’t all do our part as individuals. Vaping is an excellent case in point. If you vape, there’s a good chance that disposable vapes are your preferred products because that’s what almost everyone is buying these days. The problem, though, is that vaping devices create technical waste – a lot of it.

How much waste are we talking about, exactly? The Public Interest Research Group estimates that 4.5 vapes are thrown away every second in the United States alone. That’s a huge amount of electronic waste. It’s also potentially a huge amount of lithium seeping into groundwater when it could be reclaimed and used to make new batteries instead.

In the past, a few vape brands actually had free take-back programs and would handle the recycling of their own devices. That’s no longer feasible today due to changing regulations about what can and can’t be sent through the mail, so you’ll have to take matters into your own hands.

Cigarette butts are the world’s most common form of plastic waste. Vaping was supposed to be better. Let’s figure out what you can do to help turn things around and reduce the waste you create by vaping.

Stop Using Disposable Vapes

Switching from disposable vapes to a refillable vape is the single best thing that you can do to reduce the waste you generate by vaping. When PIRG says that Americans throw away 4.5 vapes per second, they’re really talking about disposable vapes – not refillable devices. A lithium-ion battery lasts around 300-500 charge cycles on average. Based on that, you should get more than a year of use out of a vaping device even if you charge it every day. A disposable vape, on the other hand, typically lasts just a week or so before it’s empty.  That’s definitely not the way to get the most use out of a battery.

If you just can’t keep away from tobacco without the ease and convenience of a disposable vape, the Off Stamp system can potentially provide a good alternative for you. An Off Stamp vape consists of two parts: the disposable vape itself and a portable charging dock that you can keep. When you stock up in the future, you can buy just the devices and skip re-buying the dock. Although the Off Stamp device does still have a lithium-ion battery, it reduces waste because most of the lithium is in the reusable dock.

Recycle Your Used Vapes

Although many people throw their used disposable vapes away in their household trash, that’s not necessary in a lot of cases because recycling services that accept used vapes actually do exist. To find one, start by searching the Internet for a vape recycling service near you. If you have no luck, look for an e-waste recycling service in your area. You might be surprised to find out that they take vapes. 

If you’re unable to find a recycling service for vapes in your area, that’s still not an excuse to throw your vapes in the trash. Check the website for your city’s waste authority and look for instructions about how to dispose of vaping devices. At the very least, they probably offer a collection program for hazardous waste.

Contact Your Favorite Vape Manufacturer

Did you know that it’s actually possible to create disposable vapes and pod vapes with batteries that are removable for easy recycling? If your vape has a removable battery pack, there’s no need to worry about how you’re going to dispose of the battery because you can drop it off at any battery collection point. 

The reason why disposable vapes with removable batteries are rare is because it costs more to package a battery cell in a removable pack than it does to simply solder it to the device’s circuit board. If your favorite manufacturer knew that there was demand for this feature, they might add it to an upcoming device. Contact your favorite vape brand and let them know that you’d like to see them make a disposable vape with a removable battery.

Minimizing Your Waste with a Refillable Vape

Let’s suppose that you’re already using a refillable vape. If that’s the case, half the battle is already won because the environmental impact of refillable vapes is exponentially lower than that of disposables. It’s still possible to do more, though, so here are some tips that can help you minimize the waste you generate with a refillable vape.

• Rinse and recycle your used e-liquid bottles instead of throwing them away with your regular trash. The nozzle at the tip of a vape juice bottle is removable, making it easy to remove all traces of nicotine.

• Make your vape coils last longer by avoiding sweetened e-liquids. If you use vape juice that doesn’t contain sucralose, you’ll find that your coils can last for weeks rather than days. This change won’t just reduce the waste that you generate; it can also help you save a huge amount of money.

• If you’re using a pod vape with built-in coils, switch to a system with replaceable coils. Throwing away a coil rather than an entire pod will greatly reduce the plastic waste that you generate, and this is another change that can help you save money because a new coil costs significantly less than a whole pod.

• Buy a vape with a removable battery. No matter what you do, a lithium-ion battery has a finite life. The other electronic components in the device, however, can last much longer. Using a vape with a removable battery means that you can simply remove and recycle your batteries when they no longer hold a charge. When you install a new battery, your device will work like new and can potentially last several years before you need to replace it.

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