Maidstone’s environmentalist Tony Harwood has started a petition urging the government to outlaw disposable vapes saling because, in his opinion, they are harming the environment. Disposable vapes are being discovered in rivers, endangering wildlife and depleting valuable minerals.
According to him, there is a major issue with abandoned vapes cluttering our communities as a result of the growth in the usage of trendy single-use disposable vapes.
He claimed: “I’ve been picking up litter for years, but recently there has just been a mega-increase in the amount of discarded vapes, especially after a Friday or Saturday night.
“For many young people, vaping has become an integral component of going out.
“Everybody at the bars and clubs these days seem to be puffing on a disposable vaporizer, including the patrons, the staff, and the DJs.”
Disposable vapes are made of a plastic pod that is loaded with nicotine-containing juice.
A heating element driven by the lithium battery vaporizes the juice as the user draws on the vaporizer.
The plastic, heating element, and battery are all thrown away once the juice has been consumed.
Each vape has a battery inside of it that typically comprises 0.15g of lithium, one of the precious metals on earth.
Even though the percentage may seem insignificant, Material Focus, the nonprofit organization behind the Recycle Your Electricals campaign, recently commissioned a poll that revealed 18% of respondents had purchased a vape in the year prior, with 7% purchasing a single-use device. According to the report, 168 million disposable vapes are purchased in the UK annually, which translates to nearly 10 tonnes of the valuable metal being dumped in landfills.
The University College of London’s Mark Miodownik is a professor of materials and society. He’s mentioned this before: “People probably aren’t aware that when they toss out a vaporizer, they are also throwing away a significant quantity of lithium and electronics, both of which are crucial for advancing the green economy and moving away from fossil fuels. Our mobile phones, laptop computers, and electric vehicles all contain it.”
The lithium that is dumped annually could produce 1200 electric car batteries, according to a previous year’s analysis by Materials Focus.
The plastic comes next. “Disposable vapes are swiftly evolving into the mother of all single-use plastics,” said Mr. Harwood.
“I initially began to see disposable vapes dropped in neighborhood streets and parks last Christmas, but now their popularity has soared and they are being thrown on an industrial scale,” he claimed.
“I have discovered abandoned vapes floating in the Rivers Medway and Len in Maidstone as well as on the shoreline at Hythe and Sheerness.”
The single-use disposable vapes are advertised as being similar to a pack of 20 cigarettes, but Mr. Harwood contends that their environmental impact will be much greater.
The single-use disposable vapes are advertised as being similar to a pack of 20 cigarettes, but Mr. Harwood contends that their environmental impact will be much greater.
He asserted: “Their legacy will live for decades, and as they continue to gain popularity, their ubiquity will only grow.
“In addition to the significant effects on the environment, there is also the issue of animal welfare.
He revealed: “Dogs and foxes hunt for and chew on abandoned vapes because of the fruit and saliva odor they emit.
“The rubber caps, which are also frequently abandoned, are small enough to obstruct an animal’s airway.”
They suffer harm from any nicotine that is still present.
Evie Button, a scientific officer at the RSPCA said: “Our team deals with hundreds of incidents every year where animals have been damaged by litter – and they’re the ones that we know of. For every animal we can save, I’m sure there are many more that go unnoticed, unreported, and perhaps even perish.”
Mr. Harwood has submitted an online public petition to the government requesting that the selling of disposable vapes be outlawed.
A formal response from the government is required if it receives 10,000 signatures. If it receives 100,000 signatures, a debate on the subject will take place in Parliament.
“I’m adamant that my campaign to forbid the sale of disposable vapes develops into a nationwide initiative to eradicate the mother of all single-use plastics,” Mr. Harwood stated.
Although smoking e-cigarettes is not permitted for anyone under the age of 18 in the UK, purchasing them is.
The 13-store TJ’s E-cigarettes and Vapes chain in Kent is run by Terry Utting. He said: “We very recently began providing a recycling service to our customers, around two weeks ago.
“Old vapes can be brought in, and we will carefully dispose of them. We are the first shop to do it that I am aware of. There is a difficulty. Thousands of these vapes are undoubtedly being thrown away, and they all end up at the bottom of a landfill.”
For every four used vapes that are returned, Mr. Utting gives his customers a stamp on a loyalty card. He acknowledged the rise in popularity of disposable vaporizers.
He stated: “The market is currently moving in that direction. But, these things frequently follow cycles.”
Mr. Utting strictly enforces his no-sales-to-children policy. He stated: “We ask for ID from everyone who appears to be under 25. However, kid shoplifting is a problem we periodically face.
“They rush in, take a few vapes, and run.”
According to research conducted by ASH (Action on Smoking and Health), vaping is becoming more popular among schoolchildren. 4% of kids admitted using vapes to charity in 2020. This year, that number grew to 7%, and 16% more pupils admitted to having tried vaping than the previous year.
The foundation is so concerned about the situation that it recently released new guidelines for schools.
Deborah Arnott, the charity’s chief executive said: “Vaping is not for children, and while it can help adults quit smoking if you don’t smoke, you shouldn’t vape.
“However, almost all kids who frequently vape are also quite likely to smoke, which is significantly more hazardous and addicting.
“It’s excellent if you’re a smoker using a vape to help you stop, but don’t use disposables. They are single-use plastics that also include batteries, which makes recycling them quite challenging.
“Disposables are a problem for the environment because they are just thrown in the trash and end up in landfills.”
Harwood concurred. He stated: “Children appear to be the market’s primary aim as evidenced by the abundance of colorful containers and kid-friendly flavors like chocolate and bubblegum. But nicotine is still present in these. Outside almost every school, you can see kids inhaling vape smoke. A whole new generation is becoming addicted to nicotine.”
A public health crisis is imminent, according to Mr. Harwood, who noted that the issue appears to have passed beneath most people’s notice.
Click here to use the postcode locator on the Material Focus website to discover the closest vape recycling facility.
Vapes can be safely disposed of at any one of the 19 KCC Household Waste Recycling Centers in Kent, including those in Maidstone, Gillingham, Chatham, and Dartford.
