Disposable vapes are an easy way to enjoy all that is vaping without worrying about buying and storing e-liquids and charging batteries. You must pick up one at your local vape shop and enjoy it right out of the package. It has preloaded juice, and you can use it until the battery runs out. Pretty convenient, right?
Disposable vapes are your main method until you get a more sophisticated device to buy pre-filled tanks or refill them yourself. Be responsible for recycling them so they don’t get buried under the ground and take eons to break down.
The type of people that are interested in new technology like vaping are also people that are concerned about our environment and want to see it last for generations to come. Enjoy your disposable vape. When you are finished, let those components live on as other things, thanks to the miracle of recycling.
Now, what do you do with it when it’s empty? You could throw it in the trash and add it to the local landfill, but it doesn’t seem too environmentally friendly. Instead, here is what to do with old disposable vapes.
Let’s learn what to do with old disposable vapes.
What is a disposable vape?
You shouldn’t just throw your disposable vape into the recycling bin because it needs to be separated into different components. Here are the parts of a vape pen:
- Mouthpiece This is the end of the pen where you put your mouth on to inhale the vapour.
- Internal Battery The integrated battery powers the atomizer
- Coil This is the component that adds heat to the e-liquid that is inside the atomizer
- E-liquid The e-liquid comes pre-installed inside of the vape device and is a mixture of propylene glycol (PG), vegetable glycerine (VG), flavouring and nicotine (optional)
- Airflow Control Newer vapes have an adjustable airflow control to make the draw tight or loose.
- LED Display Some disposal vape pens come with LED lights to indicate the battery level
There are no buttons on disposable vapes as it is draw activated by taking in a breath on the mouthpiece, and because it is pre-charged and pre-filled, you just start using it as soon as you buy it.
Recycle your disposable vape
Can you recycle your disposable vape? Absolutely but not as a whole. Most recycling places will throw them in the trash if they find them in one piece in the recycling bin because they don’t have the time or resources to break them down for you.
You need to safely take apart the components and separate them according to their recycling. It is a hassle, but you want to be part of the solution, right? Here’s how to do it.
Disassemble the vape
Start by taking off both ends of the vape with a pair of pliers. You can slide off the juice pod and remove the insides pretty easily. The battery with connected electrical wires is on the other end of it. Now take off any tape around the wires while leaving the tape on the battery, and cut the wires that connect the battery.
Do this one at a time, making sure they don’t touch, or they could spark if there is any energy left inside. Wrap each battery up in tape to keep them contained and not able to touch anything else.
Sort your disposable vapes
All plastic parts of the vape contents can go into your plastic recycling, including the used juice pod. You can put them all in a used ziplock to keep them together and less messy. Any metal, like the outer aluminum casing, can also go into metal recycling.
Some vapes may have a plastic or glass juice container inside, and there may be e-liquid left over if the battery runs out before the juice does. Rinse out the container and put it in your recycling bin.
Handle the battery
Finally, the battery. Your disposable vape will have an onboard lithium-ion battery to run the device. The vape is done when it is fully drained, and you can recycle it too. After disassembling the vape, drop off the battery at a recycling depot that takes all kinds of batteries. They will have the resources to get the batteries properly recycled.
If you regularly buy disposable vapes, you can always collect them and then make a day of breaking down the components in bulk. Just safely store the used pens in a plastic ziplock bag, and you are good to go.
The benefits of a disposable vape are huge. You can sample a variety of e-juices to see what your favourites are, and because they are fairly cheap and contain only a small amount of juice, you will get to sample lots. This is also a starting point for most vapers. They are transitioning off cigarettes but aren’t sure if they want to spend much money on bigger devices.
