Some have replaceable pods / tanks, but most have no user serviceable parts whatsoever.

One the liquid is low enough, the coil will burn a bit, and the whole thing should be disposed of.

One shop near me would take used ones and send them off to be properly taken apart and what not, but most people just toss them I suspect.

▲

jdietrich a day ago | parent | next [-]

The coil is part of the pod and therefore user-replaceable. The point of a pod system is to keep the coil and liquid in a self-contained system, which practically eliminates the risk of liquid leaks. All of these quasi-disposable vapes with replaceable pods and a charging port can be re-used hundreds of times.

I don't know why people dispose of the whole thing rather than just changing the pod, but at least it's a boon for electronics hobbyists.

▲

ChrisMarshallNY 2 days ago | parent | prev | next [-]

Each morning, I walk 5K. I start off in the dark. By midwinter, the whole walk is in the dark.

I am constantly walking past disposable vapes in the street, with their LEDs still shining.

	▲	macintux 2 days ago \| parent [-]
		Growing up, smoking was quite common. A lot can change in 20-30 years, so I'm cautiously optimistic that maybe vaping will eventually become as socially unacceptable as smoking.

▲

Gigachad 2 days ago | parent | prev | next [-]

Some of the new ones have the coil and vape juice in a disposable section while the battery and charge circuitry are reused.

▲

extraduder_ire 2 days ago | parent | prev [-]

If you're in the EU/UK the WEEE directive means anywhere selling them should take them back like-for-like to be directed into the correct waste stream. (they get paid some of the deposit on them to do so)

I would be more fine with disposable vapes like this if almost all of them were recovered somehow, for the amount it subsidises production of Li-ion batteries.

▲

nicbou a day ago | parent | next [-]

That's the theory. I practice, even in famously recycling-obsessed Germany, it's impossible to return electronics in places that are required to accept them, even two years after that law passed. The staff is really confused when you try.

▲

xp84 a day ago | parent | prev [-]

Theoretically a high enough deposit could probably “fix the problem.” Like, if the empty was worth a $25 deposit most people would 100% take them back to the store. It would be annoying for people to have the high deposit, but it’s really a one-time expense.

On the other hand at least in the US, a deposit of a buck or two wouldn’t do much. California has that for cans and bottles, yet only maybe 10% of people turn them in. Most end up in curbside recycling (which doesn’t refund) or the garbage, indicating people don’t care about getting their nickel or dime back.

	▲	darthwalsh 17 hours ago \| parent [-]
		Where I live in CA, many end up going to some stranger who rifles through everybody's curbside recycling bin before trash day. It's sad that times are hard, and this is the side job we've accidentally invented.