by anonymous
Let's be real, vaping is the shit. It's convenient, tastes good and it's a lot less harmful than smoking cigarettes. But here’s the thing we, the chronic vapers, 'only when I'm drinking' vapers and 'what nic is that?' vapers, don't realise - it's killing the environment.
As someone who has worked briefly in the vaping industry, I can tell you the higher-ups definitely don't give a fuck about you, let alone the planet. They openly admit how immoral it is, but justify it the same way: "At least it's good money." As someone who is empathetic and cares about the environment, that's pretty disgusting to hear.
Disposable vapes contain valuable materials like lithium batteries and copper, which are essential to the production of many electrical goods around the world. The problem is, lithium is already facing a global shortage. It's used in the majority of rechargeable technologies, including batteries for electric vehicles. Here's the kicker: over 1.3 million disposable vapes are thrown away in the UK every single week. That's a shitload of wasted lithium. Around 10 tonnes of lithium is lost each year when people toss their disposable vapes away – enough to power roughly 1,200 electric vehicles. Just imagine - 2,200 tonnes less CO2 in the atmosphere if we just stopped throwing away our vapes like they're nothing.
But it's not just the lithium. Globally, around 1.9 million tonnes of CO2 is released in the production of disposable vapes. That's equivalent to 0.3% of the Amazon Rainforest's annual capacity for absorbing carbon emissions. Needless to say, we're not doing the planet any favours by buying half a billion vapes annually in the UK alone. That's a stupid amount of lithium not being used in greener technologies.
Let's be honest - if you're addicted, you’re going to keep vaping. But if you can't kick the habit altogether, at least go for the greener, rechargeable option. It might not be as convenient, but it's a small price to pay for the health of our planet. And if you're the kind of person that doesn't dispose of vapes properly, I would say go fuck yourself - except new research indicates that vaping makes your willy soft, so good luck with that. But seriously, if we all switched to a better alternative, or disposed of our vapes properly, these changes, as small as they seem, will have a huge impact on our environment.
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