Elf Bar vapes could power 1,200 Teslas but keep ending up straight in the bin

Posted on : July 15, 2022

Disposable vapes like the Elf Bar could help power the electric vehicles of the future—if Brits would just stop throwing them away.

A Sky News investigation has found that millions of disposable vapes are going to landfill or incinerators every year.

This is not only causing tons of pollution, it's also wasting precious metals which could be used to power rechargeable electric cars.

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Disposable e-cigarettes like the popular Elf Bar contain trace amounts of a rare metal called lithium, which is used to produce rechargeable batteries.

With UK users chucking away around two disposable vapes every second, all this waste is adding up to around 10 tonnes of lithium going to the dump every year.

That's enough metal to make batteries for 1,200 electric cars.

Mark Miodownik, professor of materials and society at University College London, told Sky: "We can't be throwing these materials away, it really is madness in a climate emergency.

"It's in your laptop, it's in your mobile phone, it's in electric cars. This is the material that we are absolutely relying on to shift away from fossil fuels and address climate issues."

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Disposable vapes can be bought cheaply in a wide variety of flavours from many off-licences and supermarkets across the UK.

These colourful vapes are proving a massive hit as people shift away from smoking traditional cigarettes. Disposable vape sales increased by 279% in the last three months of 2021.

However, warnings have been issued about the potential health effects of using Elf Bar disposable vapes, which could damage your gums and lungs despite a reduced cancer risk compared to cigarettes.

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