Ryan Resplandor
Managing E-Cigarette Waste
How can we provide e-smokers with a sustainable and accessible way of handling and disposing hazardous materials from used e-cigarette products?
Over recent years the usage of“e-cigarette” or “vape” products has increased by both smokers & non-smokers alike, specifically among younger people. The upsurge in vape product usage is mainly due to the developing technology of the devices themselves, creating more effective ways of consuming nicotine. E-cigarettes are complex devices by design and present a bio-hazardous risk with quantities of residual nicotine which is detrimental toward the environment. Because the products are complex and vary in size, many components differ from one another making them difficult to simply recycle and dispose of properly. They require additional attention in comparison to regular electronic waste. The main concerns when disposing of these devices are residual nicotine & lithium batteries which are considered hazardous & dangerous.
Insight
Users can use vape products indoors or outdoors (consider dismantling, filling, adjusting, disposing, and smoking product). Short term interchangeable pod systems like Juul or Relx produce more waste and is the most common type of system among users. Users need a proper method of storage and a method of accessible storage. Hazardous waste drop-off locations are not convenient for users.
Idea
The idea is to develop a foldable, compact, cardboard container solution for storing immediate vape waste while at home and on-the-go with a stationary disposal bin at retail locations to collect and distribute the waste product from users.
Impact
This solution is based on getting the user to be much more engaged with the idea of sustainability as well as develop something cheap and easy to produce while still serving its function for storing imminent e-cigarette waste. Its design is self-locking without the need to assemble with an adhesive.
Biography
Ryan is an Industrial Designer and visual maker based in Toronto. He relies on his strengths in visual techniques, visual thinking, and understanding people to develop meaningful, emotional, and functional design in order to positively impact our society and environment.