Which is a bigger environmental threat: disposable vape units, or conventional cigarettes?

Nature Talk
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Has anyone else noticed these units in their trail litter pickings? Certainly in total number, they don’t even come anywhere near the cigarette butts, but they might in total mass. Depending on where your trail is.

The fact that these are even allowed to be sold as a ‘disposable’ product really offends me. Not just for the potential wilderness impact by clueless vapers, but also just in regular waste disposal. They are e-waste items but continue to be regarded by users as ordinary trash, despite the fact that these units contain batteries, circuitry, and a lot of plastic and metal (usually aluminum cased).

How about you? What kind of presence by the vaping industry do you see in your neighbourhoods and natural areas? Does anyone live in an area where these are recycled? Is there any sort of laws, enforcement or even public awareness campaign where you live that informs users of their environmental impact?

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I’ve noticed them too. I haven’t taken one apart, but I’ve seen the remains of one that a car ran over. I’m pretty sure they use lithium-ion batteries, to make matters worse.

If it uses such batteries, I think all of the international commerce from sourcing materials probably makes it worse.

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I never saw anything ftom the vapes on the ground, cigarette butts are common abd numerous. Gladly awaiting the ban of vapes though, it should be soon enough so I will never see them.

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Hi folks, I’m closing this topic because it seems too tangential to the purpose of this Forum:

for iNaturalist users to discuss iNat-related topics, report bugs, and request new features

Topics this broad can be discussed on any number of other online platforms that are not specifically built for iNaturalist.

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