By Kenny Tran
@redlineproject
AI disclaimer: Atlas AI was used for brainstorming and editing. Sora was used to create videos, and Google Gemini for making AI images.
The widespread cigarette alternative known as the e-cigarette, has been affecting Chicago’s environment by creating hazardous plastic waste. This also leads to harsh chemicals in the air and water that create a toxic environment in the ecosystem. They’re also harmful for the lungs and are not a safe alternative to quit smoking cigarettes, studies show.
Anthony Ponce in the article “Environmental concerns rise as vape disposal harms freshwater ecosystems”, said that 40% of trash on beaches are smoking products and 3-cigarettes. Ponce also wrote about how the batteries in 3-cigarettes harm the soil and water in the environment if not disposed of correctly, which causes long-term pollution.
The plastic in these vaping devices can create microplastic which is hard for these things to degrade in the environment. It is important to recycle E-cigarettes if you find them littered on the ground and to help reduce plastic and battery waste.
Furthermore, there are also issues with vaping when smoking in public where it harms others due to second-hand vaping. Tate Gunnerson, the author of “In secondhand vape, scientists smell risk”, talks about inhaling the vapor from the e-cigarette increases the risk of bronchitis and makes others short of breath. The small particles with metals that enter the lungs when someone breathes them cause damage to the body, according to Gunnerson.
To avoid secondhand smoke from vaping or cigarettes, it’s best to not be in the same room as the person vaping, and help them quit vaping. A lot of the respiratory issues slowly build up and won’t be diagnosed until years later.
An article on Undo, “The environmental impact of vape products: Pollution from production to disposal” reports that the lithium batteries in vapes cause environmental issues due to the mining that causes carbon dioxide to be emitted each time lithium is mined. This causes the extraction to use a lot of chemicals with water that leads to toxic waste, according to Undo.
There are vaping devices that use nicotine which comes from tobacco plants and farming these plants leads to ruining wildlife and plants, which will ruin a lot of trees and habitats. Microplastics that come from vaping spread to food and the air we breathe, which gets stuck in our lungs, blood, intestines and mutations in our DNA, according to Undo.
This is important because there are not many industries advocating to recycle e-cigarettes and it leads to a lot of electronic waste every year. We can’t simply throw away E-cigarettes in trash cans because they can catch on fire, which causes mini explosions if exposed to high heat. Not only are these affecting humans but it also affects animals.
Is there a way to recycle e-cigarettes to eliminate e-waste as of now? Lucas Gutterman, a director for a campaign that fights against e-waste, said, “There is currently no standard or effective way to recycle disposable e-cigarettes. Disposable vapes contain a problematic combination of lithium-ion batteries, electronics, plastic, and hazardous e-liquid that makes them nearly impossible to process through conventional recycling systems. Even when vapes are collected for proper disposal, the method is typically incineration rather than recycling. The mix of nicotine (an EPA-defined hazardous waste), batteries, and mixed plastics creates a recycling challenge that current systems cannot handle.”
Since there’s not a standard way to recycle e-cigarettes. Which causes many people to throw away e-cigarettes that harm the environment. The problem with E-cigarettes is that some of them are chargeable with a USB cable, and it can’t be refilled with the e-liquid included with the vaping device, which causes waste.
Are there recommendations to stop the usage of e-cigarettes? Gutterman said, “Comprehensive bans on disposable vapes, like California’s proposed AB 762 Strong enforcement mechanisms with civil penalties and license revocation for non-compliant retailers Flavor restrictions to reduce appeal, especially to youth Comprehensive state policies that don’t contain loopholes Dedicated funding for enforcement efforts Community education and retailer training programs States like Massachusetts, California, and New York have implemented various restrictions that have effectively reduced e-cigarette sales and usage.”
The landfills and waterways are filled with e-waste because there’s no definitive way to properly dispose of them, which is a huge hazard that never degrades. Once the vaping device is finished, the user can’t even reuse and recycle the e-cigarette.
What are the harmful effects of e-waste to our environment? Gutterman also said: “Wasting critical resources — the lithium in annual disposable vape sales in the U.S. equals what’s needed for 2,600 electric cars Creating non-biodegradable plastic pollution that persists for centuries Leaching toxic metals and chemicals into soil and groundwater when disposed in landfills, contributing to litter that endangers wildlife, particularly in waterways adding to the rapidly growing e-waste stream, which is already the fastest-growing waste category globally. The scale of the problem is massive — Americans discard 4.5 vapes per second, creating waste that would stretch 7,000-plus miles if lined up.”
Kristin Samuelson, the author of “How do vaping, the environment lifestyle impact long-term lung health?”, wrote about how chronic lung disease is the fourth leading cause of death and vaping helps contribute to that and bronchitis. A lot of the younger people are getting more issues with lung problems now that vaping is a popular thing to do since it was supposed to be a safe alternative to smoking but ended up being just as bad.
Another serious issue: Kids are vaping. According to Denise Crosby, the author of “Column: Youth vaping remains a burning issue in Fox Valley and beyond.” There are kids that think e-cigarttes are safe and it is important to advocate in school the risks and dangers of vaping. It is a lot easier to hide e-cigarettes because the container doesn’t look like a usual cigarette container, so parents aren’t able to confiscate it or notice it. There needs to be a ban for e-cigarettes and usage of e-cigarettes.
E-cigarettes pose a risk in the environment that also affects health and wildlife. There are not a lot of places that advocate for recycling vaping or banning the usage of e-cigarettes. The landfills and waterways are filled with e-waste and it’s hard to dispose of e-cigarettes completely or a way to reuse them. There are huge risks in secondhand vaping that not only harm you but also harm others around you.
