There were a couple of deciding factors when we decided to start recycling vape products. These factors include safety, harm to the environment, and the ability to reuse valuable materials. Let’s take a look further into three important reasons why recycling vape products saves lives and the planet.
1) The Hazards of Improper Disposal
The first reason why recycling vape products is important is safety. The batteries used in vape products are usually lithium-ion batteries, which are known to spark, ignite, or explode if disposed of improperly. There have been many reports over the years of vapes exploding in people’s pockets, and even while they are using them because of these batteries. Not only that but also many house fires have been reportedly caused throughout the years by lithium-ion batteries. Even many waste disposal facilities have reported many fires caused by lithium-ion batteries.
Sometimes even when you don’t harm the battery, they can still be dangerous and fail without a moment’s notice. The Samsung Galaxy Note 7 got banned from flying on all U.S airlines because the lithium-ion battery in the phone had many cases of igniting. Another item that has had many reports of their lithium batteries blowing up, is hoverboards. When they first came out, there were many reports of them catching on fire. Seeing how dangerous some of these items can be, we see why it is important to dispose of the products correctly. If disposed of incorrectly, then many people could be put at risk.
2) Presence of Harmful Elements
Another key reason that makes recycling vape products important is that lithium-ion batteries have many materials harmful to the environment. One of the main materials used in vape batteries is cobalt, which is highly harmful to the environment, even in small amounts. Not only is it harmful to the environment, but some of the materials are also toxic to humans, like copper, lead, and nickel. So, these batteries pose a huge threat to both environment and humans.
People throw out batteries all the time that end up in landfills and either leak these harmful chemicals, or they ignite causing fires that are hard to put out. Also, sometimes these landfills get converted into public areas like parks. An example of this is Mount Trashmore in Virginia Beach. Such areas have a large number of people visiting them. If harmful materials like what is in the lithium batteries get out, it can cause harm and danger to the people around the area. This reason alone is enough to signify why recycling vape products can not wait.
3) Recycling Vape Products for a Sustainable Future
Finally, the last deciding factor was the ability to re-use some of the valuable materials found in vape batteries. This is important to us because we always try to re-use anything we can to conserve the environment and get more life out of disposed of products. All of the reusable materials found in vape batteries include copper, stainless steel, aluminum, plastic, lithium-ion salt, and cobalt. If a company or facility properly recycles these vape and lithium-ion batteries, then almost all of the materials can be reused for new batteries. The materials could also be repurposed for other products or items, instead of needlessly mining for new materials.
It is said that young U.S. teens and adults are buying roughly 12 million vaping products per month. This shows their growing popularity among youngsters. Therefore, recycling vape products is more important than ever to avoid an environmental dilemma.
Considering all of these factors, it is obvious that recycling vape products and lithium ion batteries are very important. It is not just a responsible choice, but a necessity to keep our environment and communities safe.
Using the information given to you, you can create a safer environment for not only yourself and the others around you, but also for our planet. If you’re ready to be part of this transformative journey or have any questions, don’t hesitate to reach out to us. Feel free to contact us at 330-800-6657 or by email at contact@summitecycle.com.
In case you are wondering about the process of recycling electronic waste, you can read our interesting article here.
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