Clipped from the article above:
The vape effect
Batteries as a whole are a growing concern, but there’s a reason Fire Rover’s report has an image of an exploding electronic vape pen on its cover, with the superimposed message “We are at war 2024.” Fogelman sees a notable shift in publicly reported fire data—not from Fire Rover’s own detection, but from news and other reports and sources—from the 2016–2021 period to 2022–2024. Something is causing this shift, and Fogelman’s most likely culprit is e-cigarettes, vapes, and other battery-powered nicotine devices.
Vapes are perhaps the most effective single thing the e-waste and recycling industries could target. If everybody knew how to dispose of vapes properly, at sites that can safely handle them, there could be a reduction in risk.
But that safe, evenly distributed vape disposal network does not exist. As previously noted, you can make a rather powerful e-bike from the vapes left behind at a festival in the UK. In the US, the EPA directs people to bring their e-cigarettes to household hazardous waste (HHW) sites or pick-up events, which are “typically” free.
“Not only are their batteries being improperly discarded in waste and recycling bins, but the vape industry has done the bare minimum to invest in the technology needed to address the 1.2 billion vapes entering our waste and recycling streams annually,” the report states.
Vaping Noir 