Recently, the popularity and trend of using disposable vapes have increased among GenZ and Millenials. With the Popular Disposable Vape Flavors available through Element Vape, while the benefits are plenty, certain complications go hand in hand, such as environmental harm. Even after a single use, many such vapes are dumped daily in bins or landfills, making up a huge bulk of e-waste. According to research commissioned by Material Focus, around 1.3 million disposable vapes are thrown away every week per annum, which is enough to cover 22 football pitches.
Therefore, it’s important that one should know how to recycle disposable vapes responsibly and ethically for the safety of the planet. However, disposable vapes are not designed to be recycled, as they are intended to be used once and then disposed of. However, by disassembling its parts, each component of the disposable vape can be recycled.
How to Recycle Each Part of an Empty Disposable Vape?
The right way to recycle is to break down or dismantle the disposable vaping kit into its various parts. Its core components are a vape coil, a vape tank filled with vape juice, and a non-rechargeable battery. Hence, it will ensure that the valuable materials used in the components are recovered during the recycling process.
Below are some environmentally friendly ways to recycle the main parts of the disposable vape.
Recycling Vape Batteries
Most E-cigarettes or vape devices use rechargeable lithium-ion batteries to heat or vaporize inhaling liquid. These batteries can be recycled to recover valuable materials such as cobalt, nickel, manganese, and lithium. According to statistics, we lose 10 tonnes of lithium annually when disposable vapes are thrown away. If recycled, this lithium could make batteries for 1,200 electric vehicles.
So, all you need to do for recycling is remove the battery from the E-cigarette. Take it to a certified recycling center or collection site that accepts lithium-ion batteries. They will dismantle and shred the whole battery to a powder in their processing plants. This powder is then smelted or dissolved in acid. Thereby, important metals can be extracted, recovered, and reused for a better purpose.
Recycling Vape Tanks
Before you begin with the recycling process, it’s important that you clean the nicotine e-liquid residue left in the vape tank. Then, you should disassemble and separate the components of the disposable vape tank. It includes a pyrex glass tube, resin or plastic drip tip, metallic top lid, rubber seal, and coil.
Some of its parts are recyclable, while others are not. The plastic drip tip is too small to be picked up by the machines at a recycling center. Hence, it should be disposed of in the bin. Similarly, Pyrex glass tubes are not made up of the same material as your typical glass bottles and jars that you find in grocery stores. Thus, it is non-recyclable and should be discarded. However, your disposable vape tank’s metallic components ( rings and top lids) can be recycled. You can take them to your nearest tip to be broken down as scrap metal.
Recycling Vape Coils
The vape coil is the backbone of your vaping devices. It is made up of a wrapped metallic wire and a cotton wick. After the coil has cooled down, remove it from the tank and carefully separate it from the wick.
Unfortunately, the cotton mesh cannot be recycled because it is totally soaked up and saturated with e-liquid and nicotine. However, the metallic parts of your disposable vape coils are recyclable. You can take them to a recycling center or your local scrap metal tip to be repurposed into something new.
Bottom Line
In conclusion, vaping is a healthier alternative for people looking to switch from smoking. Moreover, it can also benefit the environment if you choose to recycle your disposable vapes. Hence, by recycling your kit, you’ll help recover valuable materials, reduce the carbon footprint, protect the environment, and make this world a better place to live in. You must remember that disposing the vapes properly must be done in the aforementioned steps. So, if you are a vaping fanatic, you can check out fully recyclable disposable vape pens available in different flavors at Element Vape.