A driver who found a strange item in the road wondered whether the metal object with wires had come from their vehicle or somewhere else.
They asked r/whatisthisthing because the electric vehicle they were piloting, an Ioniq 5, sustained a flat tire. As an eco-friendly consumer, they likely wanted to know whether it was OK to just toss it in the trash.
It's a good thing they asked, because the flattened cylinder was a disposable vape or e-cigarette.
These kinds of devices are battery-powered, and they're used to inhale nicotine and other aerosolized liquids. The problem is they are a health hazard — and the materials needed to produce them are polluting our world and damaging our vehicles. They're also illegal in the United States and elsewhere, though enforcement is lacking.
Vapes and e-cigs are marketed as healthier alternatives to cigarettes, and while that may be true, they are disproportionately harming children, according to the National Institute on Drug Abuse. The flavored products are alluringly marketed and seem innocent enough with various colors, names, and no off-putting smell, but nicotine is still "highly addictive" and can alter brain development.
The wasteful packaging — the batteries are rechargeable, but the receptacles cannot be refilled — is polluting our environment with plastic, electronics, and chemicals, the U.S. Public Interest Research Group reported. The nicotine, an acute hazardous waste, contaminates the plastic so that it can't be recycled, and the battery can't be thrown in the trash because it's a fire hazard — but it also can't be recycled easily.
The United Kingdom, Germany, and Australia have banned disposable vapes, while Mexico, Brazil, and India have banned all e-cigarettes, according to PIRG, which says this is the only way to handle the disposable electronics.
Commenters similarly detailed the risk, disposal options, and need to cut consumption of single-use items.
"Looks like a vape battery that's been run over," one wrote. "Dispose of it carefully since it's so damaged it could be unstable and catch fire easily."
Someone else ranted: "It's a vape. It's always a vape. These outright criminal manufacturers and sellers have caused the world to be littered and polluted at an unprecedented rate, with tiny lithium fires waiting to happen (and subsequent environmental poisoning), for a quick buck, and nobody seems to give a s***. It's insane. I have a feeling it'll be one of those things that will only be addressed once it's far too late, with far too little, and they've all had their buck."
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