What’s inside vapes and why they’re harmful to the environment?
Vapes
The increased usage and prevalence of e-cigarettes (popularly known as vapes) has increased in the last 15-20 years to an extent where it has become a point of concern.
They are considered unsafe and addictive by governments of multiple countries. The Australian government has decided to put a ban on retail sale of the item. Vapes are disposable products containing a high number of valuable resources and the scientists haven't yet figured out how to recycle waste.
There is no way to recycle E-waste (vapes come under this category) as of now. The single use vapes are more popular and they consist of a battery, a pressure sensor, a heating element and a reservoir with e-liquid (known as juice). If you try to breakdown and dissemble the vapes, you'll be left with a few parts which help us to understand how they work.
Here are the different parts of the vape and their use:
Housing: It's made of aluminium which is closed at ends using plastics. The main body consists of some graphics and paint finish.
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Battery: The vapes contain a very small Lithium battery which has a high power density. It's done so that sudden bursts of energy can be released to ensure that the supply of e-liquid lasts.
Pressure Sensor: This is used as a switching device. When the person takes a drag, it turns on and completes the circuit.
The E Liquid reservoir: The e-liquid filled inside a tube and is saturated by a foam like material. The liquid contains a lot of ingredients like propylene glycol, nicotine and other flavours. The health impacts of these ingredients are unknown.
In the last few years, the market for vapes has been increasing constantly which is leading to more consumption. Now, this poses an even worse problem because vapes are one of the major contributors in the category of e-waste.
On top of this, they pose a risk of being burnt when tossed in the bin because of the dense Lithium batteries inside. The usage results in a big loss of resources which are hard to find and are useful too, namely Lithium and Aluminium.
(With inputs from agencies)
