With more people becoming environmentally conscious, there is a need to embrace the move as a vaping industry. The need to minimize plastic waste from the industry is ever more obvious today than before.
What You Need to Know About Vaping Environment
Vaping industry stakeholders are attempting to be environmentally friendly. This has reduced the number of plastics used in the industry, especially the single-use types. Some companies even use glass. However, what are the impacts of vaping on the environment, and is it possible to reduce the number of plastics used in this industry?
Can vaping Compare to Cigarette Smoking in Terms of Environmental Impact?
No. Cigarette smoking is considered a lot worse because the smoke not only disturbs those who it gets to directly, but the cumulative smoke is one of the major forms of pollution. Millions of cigarette butts find their way to the ocean every year with over 4.5 trillion of these being found in oceans currently.
They make a large pollution menace compared to plastic bags, straws, and bottles, among other plastics. This may not have been an issue if the butts were made of only paper, but most cigarette butts are made from cellulose acetate, an artificial plastic that takes about ten years to degrade. This means that the pollution caused by these butts takes long enough to cause serious damage.
As if that is not enough, there is the issue of toxic chemicals found in cigarette smoke and the plastics from vaping products. Some of the chemicals from the butts include:
- Formaldehyde
- Nicotine
- Arsenic
- Lead
- Copper
- Chromium
- Cadmium
- Variety of polyaromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs).
These are often leached into the natural systems, causing problems for those who want to quit as they keep falling back repetitively.
What About the Impact of Batteries from Vaping Devices?
One may argue that cigarettes are not as destructive because they do not come with batteries. However, batteries tend to complicate the environmentally friendly measures taken by the vaping industry because they are a bit more complex to dispose of. Even so, there are a few things vapers do to minimize the footprints of these batteries in the environment.
For example, they go for devices with lithium batteries as these can be recharged and residue severally before they require any replacement. Additionally, vapers can drop the batteries at recycling centers where they can be recycled and minimize their impact on pollution. It is best to go for refillable vapes if you are environmentally conscious.
What About Bottles and Cartridges?
Empty pods, bottles, atomizers, and cartridges tend to have leftover nicotine. It is important to be careful how you dispose of this. Treat them as you would soap. Some of the appropriate disposal techniques include:
- Take them to hazardous waste collection centers in your locality
- Sale vapes and only have them for 90 days or less before disposing
- Avoid rinsing e-liquids in cartridges since this may contaminate water
- Keep the e-liquid away from your skin
- Put vapes away from kids and pets
How to Vape in an Eco-friendly Manner
There are several things you could do to enjoy vaping without hurting the environment as much.
- Kep off smoking
- Use vape devices with re-usable and rechargeable batteries
- use large formats of vape products to minimize plastic waste
- Find recycling facilities near you
- Safely dispose of e-liquids
You can also choose to buy high-quality products from Vape DZ to conserve the environment. You won’t need much, meaning you will vape for much longer and minimize waste. Consider this if you are a resident of Fort Worth, TX, and its environs.