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Hopefully they get around to banning disposable vapes sooner rather than later, the needless waste with those is just ridiculous. All vapes use lithium batterie

Hopefully they get around to banning disposable vapes sooner rather than later, the needless waste with those is just ridiculous. All vapes use lithium batteries due to their high current requirements, but the disposable ones simply have no way to recharge the battery. Not to mention the fire risk, the vape juice usually runs out before the battery fully discharges so they end up being thrown away still partially charged, which makes them more unstable and eager to catch fire if they get damaged during processing. https://nfcc.org.uk/over-1200-battery-fires-in-bin-lorries-and-waste-sites-across-the-uk-in-last-year/ https://nfcc.org.uk/over-1200-battery-fires-in-bin-lorries-a...

freitzkriesler2 2y ago
Disposable vapes use C grade lithium batteries that are otherwise low quality and would have been discarded anyway since they're already mostly used and not good enough to go into any other applications.
- elaus 2y ago
  Though I'm sure it's much easier to recycle those c grade batteries directly after they are sorted out after production, instead of when they are inside an old vape, inside a container with all the other trash.
  - detritus 2y ago
    Or, if the streets of London are anything to go by - the pavement. I find it immensely telling that the vast majority of these things (ie. the popular flavoured kinds) are banned in the country that produces them.
  - freitzkriesler2 2y ago
    I work in battery manufacturing and it's not. The type of cells used in vapes are Lithiun iron phosphate. Once you open the cells up, they're essentially rust. There is some material that can be pulled from them but companies pay to remove them because the cost of extraction is more Than the cost of using fresh materials. This is the dirty secret regarding lithium cells. At the very least, using C grade cells in this manner ensures a working product gets used for some application even if it is disposable. Take solice in the fact that when you throw batteries out in landfill trash that most are picked up by high powered magnets and are separated out for recycling.
sharpshadow 2y ago
From a broader future perspective I try to take into account that there might be a war between the west and east which would cut the west out of a lot of resources which in this specific perspective would be wise to have been accumulated until then.
- turlpub 2y ago
  [flagged]
everdrive 2y ago
It's also the case that vapes are entirely a waste of resources no matter how you cut it. There's no good reason they should exist, and so even the smallest amount of waste is still a negative. Conceptually, this is somewhat similar to spraying insecticide to protect people from Malaria (painful to spray so much poison, but there's a clear benefit) vs. a consumer spraying their back yard so they don't have to experience insects whatsoever. (no real benefit, and just as costly if done at scale)
- nordsieck 2y ago
  > It's also the case that vapes are entirely a waste of resources no matter how you cut it. There's no good reason they should exist, and so even the smallest amount of waste is still a negative. I'm confused - do you think that coffee is also entirely a waste of resources? Pretty clearly, many people like stimulants. And vapes seem like a better, although not harm free, version of cigarettes.
- peanut-walrus 2y ago
  Vapes are proven to be highly effective at getting people to quit smoking. All the lives saved are definitely a good reason for them to exist. But yeah, disposable vapes are stupid.
  - yetihehe 2y ago
    > Vapes are proven to be highly effective at getting people to quit smoking. ... Quit smoking cigarettes. It's only replacing one type of litter (cigarette butts) with another (charged batteries plus some contaminated plastics and electronics).
- benbenolson 2y ago
  “So they don’t have to experience insects whatsoever” You don’t live in an area where mosquitoes are a problem, do you? They can get so bad that you simply don’t want to go outside because you’ll have multiple biting you at any given moment. So yes, there is a benefit to consumers spraying for mosquitoes: those consumers can now enjoy their yards! A treatment of Bifenthrin every few months, and the mosquito problem is greatly reduced. I don’t disagree with the point of your comment, though.
schwartzworld 2y ago
I have thought for a long time that there is an easy solution to the vape battery problem: make vapes without batteries. I used to have one of these https://a.aliexpress.com/_mKUdIR6 https://a.aliexpress.com/_mKUdIR6 It worked great from a usb power bank or my car lighter. No reason we couldn't design a disposable on a similar principle. It would be a LOT cheaper and remove the worst environmental concern of vaping.
- jsheard 2y ago
  I mean, vape nerds had this figured out years ago with designs that used standardized 18650 or similar cells in bodies that were designed to be user serviceable. We went backwards from there with the shift towards vapes with rechargable but non-replacable batteries, and then to batteries that can't even be recharged.
  - schwartzworld 2y ago
    That's fair. I used the thing I linked during that time period, but for casual vapers disposables have a legitimate place. I can't keep a whole vape system in the house or I'll use them constantly, but when my friends are smoking cigars, I like having a vape. The battery is the most environmentally detrimental part, but it's also the least necessary, since usb power sources are everywhere.
lagniappe 2y ago
>but the disposable ones simply have no way to recharge the battery I've routinely harvested and repurposed the batteries and the usbc ports from many of these due to how easily discarded ones are found. What brands do you find unable to recharge?

freitzkriesler2 2y ago

Disposable vapes use C grade lithium batteries that are otherwise low quality and would have been discarded anyway since they're already mostly used and not good enough to go into any other applications.

elaus 2y ago
Though I'm sure it's much easier to recycle those c grade batteries directly after they are sorted out after production, instead of when they are inside an old vape, inside a container with all the other trash.
- detritus 2y ago
  Or, if the streets of London are anything to go by - the pavement. I find it immensely telling that the vast majority of these things (ie. the popular flavoured kinds) are banned in the country that produces them.
- freitzkriesler2 2y ago
  I work in battery manufacturing and it's not. The type of cells used in vapes are Lithiun iron phosphate. Once you open the cells up, they're essentially rust. There is some material that can be pulled from them but companies pay to remove them because the cost of extraction is more Than the cost of using fresh materials. This is the dirty secret regarding lithium cells. At the very least, using C grade cells in this manner ensures a working product gets used for some application even if it is disposable. Take solice in the fact that when you throw batteries out in landfill trash that most are picked up by high powered magnets and are separated out for recycling.

sharpshadow 2y ago

From a broader future perspective I try to take into account that there might be a war between the west and east which would cut the west out of a lot of resources which in this specific perspective would be wise to have been accumulated until then.

turlpub 2y ago
[flagged]

everdrive 2y ago

It's also the case that vapes are entirely a waste of resources no matter how you cut it. There's no good reason they should exist, and so even the smallest amount of waste is still a negative. Conceptually, this is somewhat similar to spraying insecticide to protect people from Malaria (painful to spray so much poison, but there's a clear benefit) vs. a consumer spraying their back yard so they don't have to experience insects whatsoever. (no real benefit, and just as costly if done at scale)

nordsieck 2y ago
> It's also the case that vapes are entirely a waste of resources no matter how you cut it. There's no good reason they should exist, and so even the smallest amount of waste is still a negative. I'm confused - do you think that coffee is also entirely a waste of resources? Pretty clearly, many people like stimulants. And vapes seem like a better, although not harm free, version of cigarettes.
peanut-walrus 2y ago
Vapes are proven to be highly effective at getting people to quit smoking. All the lives saved are definitely a good reason for them to exist. But yeah, disposable vapes are stupid.
- yetihehe 2y ago
  > Vapes are proven to be highly effective at getting people to quit smoking. ... Quit smoking cigarettes. It's only replacing one type of litter (cigarette butts) with another (charged batteries plus some contaminated plastics and electronics).
benbenolson 2y ago
“So they don’t have to experience insects whatsoever” You don’t live in an area where mosquitoes are a problem, do you? They can get so bad that you simply don’t want to go outside because you’ll have multiple biting you at any given moment. So yes, there is a benefit to consumers spraying for mosquitoes: those consumers can now enjoy their yards! A treatment of Bifenthrin every few months, and the mosquito problem is greatly reduced. I don’t disagree with the point of your comment, though.

schwartzworld 2y ago

I have thought for a long time that there is an easy solution to the vape battery problem: make vapes without batteries. I used to have one of these https://a.aliexpress.com/_mKUdIR6 https://a.aliexpress.com/_mKUdIR6 It worked great from a usb power bank or my car lighter. No reason we couldn't design a disposable on a similar principle. It would be a LOT cheaper and remove the worst environmental concern of vaping.

jsheard 2y ago
I mean, vape nerds had this figured out years ago with designs that used standardized 18650 or similar cells in bodies that were designed to be user serviceable. We went backwards from there with the shift towards vapes with rechargable but non-replacable batteries, and then to batteries that can't even be recharged.
- schwartzworld 2y ago
  That's fair. I used the thing I linked during that time period, but for casual vapers disposables have a legitimate place. I can't keep a whole vape system in the house or I'll use them constantly, but when my friends are smoking cigars, I like having a vape. The battery is the most environmentally detrimental part, but it's also the least necessary, since usb power sources are everywhere.

lagniappe 2y ago

>but the disposable ones simply have no way to recharge the battery I've routinely harvested and repurposed the batteries and the usbc ports from many of these due to how easily discarded ones are found. What brands do you find unable to recharge?