Right off the bat, disposable vapes contribute to environmental waste, but not as severely as they say. Like everyday tangible objects that may or may not produce more ecological waste, the severity of disposable vapes’ waste to the environment will only be logical and reliable if compared to the right counterpart. Comparing the waste produced between vape devices are somewhat illogical and impractical as these are devices with common goals and uses—as a better alternative to smoking. Thus, this read will show the reality of disposable vapes’ impact on environmental waste compared to smoking cigarettes, the proper counterpart for this topic.
The Reality of Waste Impact of Cigarette Smoking
The goal is not to differentiate the health hazard of cigarette smoking, although that also produces environmental wastes that are far more severe right then and then. Cigarettes are disposable and are meant for a single-use per-stick of this tobacco product. Every single use of this disposable cigarette leaves actual waste; the pack containing the cigarettes, the carton containing those packs, and the cigarette butt. An empty cigarette soft pack weighs around 6-8 grams, while a hard pack weighs 10-14grams. A single disposable cigarette stick that weighs approximately 1-1.2 grams can be puffed 6 to 7 times before it becomes fully smoked.
Each cigarette butt weighs around 0.2 grams when fully smoked, but this waste can consider more than it should since it is prone to absorb water or dirt when thrown after use. With this information, it is safe to say that a single 20’s cigarette soft pack can leave a waste totaling 10-12 grams. A 600-puff disposable vape from a reputable brand like ELFBAR can produce a waste weighing approximately 26 grams. But to make this comparison reliable, the usage must be considered.
Since the disposable vape can reach up to 600-puff or more, it would take five 20’s packs of cigarettes, further increasing its potential waste to 50-60 grams. Smoking cigarettes produce double the amount of garbage before it can come up to par with a single disposable vape in terms of usage. The materials used on both sides are also factors to be considered to make this comparison reliable. Cigarettes, including their pack, use paper for wrapping the tobacco into the cigarette and technically for its packaging. There’s a tiny possibility that empty cigarette packs can be recycled and put to good use again, but for cigarette butts, it is highly impossible.
Disposable vapes are commonly made with a plastic body that can be melted and recycled as material for newly manufactured disposable vapes or other things that use plastics. This information means disposable vapes don’t produce any permanent or non-recyclable waste compared to cigarette smoking. There are also no incidents, not even one, that a disposable vape ended up on a turtle’s or any marine living creature’s stomach, unlike cigarette butts. The truth in disposable vape being dubbed a glorified disposable cigarette is very far from reality and fact. Many reliable and certified research studies prove vaping is 95% better in all aspects than smoking—a huge margin of difference in benefits and efficiency in all departments.
Conclusion
Like mentioned earlier, every tangible object used in people’s daily lives contributes to environmental waste, just like smartphones that contribute a different kind of impact on the environment and a different kind of waste. But it is not fair to compare the waste produced between a disposable vape and a smartphone because the primary purpose of both devices differs by miles apart. Since vape devices offer and deliver a better alternative to smoking, thus any comparison in terms of benefits and drawbacks should be made between vaping and smoking alone and not vaping devices versus another vaping devices. Making the comparison logical, factual, and reliable, just like this article.
