I will say, though, disposable vapes with microcontrollers inside (and even full games and screens from recent reporting) are an egregious source of e-waste. Many layers of stupid are present here.
You mean like add the cost of a MRI to the price of a pack of cigarettes?
If you go look at modern smoke detectors, many-to-most, now have a non-replaceable battery for exactly that reason.
I did the same thing, and the first four results were Kidde and First Alert Smoke Alarms with non-replaceable 10-year lifespan batteries.
It is likely because you recently purchased one, and Amazon has targeted your results based on your purchase history.
If you have some old Samsung Galaxy Gio from 2011, it'll provide far more value by recycling it back to raw materials than it would if you'd somehow try to keep it usable in 2025.
The problem here is planned obsolescence in a product's design. That is what needs to be made illegal.
Plus, many smoke alarms these days use a photoelectric sensor which don't wear out but are prone to false alarms from dust, etc. Smoke alarms SHOULD be cleaned at least once a year, by blasting them with compressed air. Dust buildup is a very common reason that smoke alarms stop working as well after any number of years. They require regular cleaning, just like everything else in the house.
Non-replaceable battery smoke alarms are popular because they are much more convenient to own. And you should NOT throw them away, the batteries in these contain lithium and must be recycled.
And we're all gonna die, why would we have laws at all?
When we say "disposable vape", it's not to say "it will eventually stop working". It's more to say "you use it, you throw it away".
> E-waste recycling is a profitable
I don't doubt it's profitable, but it's most certainly not a good thing for the planet. Recycling is generally not a solution to waste.
> The problem here is planned obsolescence in a product's design. That is what needs to be made illegal.
Seriously? We're talking about DISPOSABLE VAPES. They are built to last as short a time as possible. At this point I am not sure if you think you disagree with me, are just nitpicking for the fun of it, or something else?
When we talk about "disposable vapes", we don't talk about something that lasts 10 years, do we?
Or do you think that the very word "disposable" should not exist, because after all, nothing will last longer than the sun?
The landlord special on older construction (maybe >10 years old, can't remember when the hardwire code went into effect) will usually be the 9v. Because they don't care about you having to get on a ladder to change the battery every year. They get to save $5-10 per smoke detector. Practically any homeowner is going to choose the 10 year option as the batteries don't have to be swapped.
The actual problem here is how the product is intentionally designed to only be used once, when that's absolutely unnecessary. We both agree on that. That falls within the issue of planned obsolescence, and that's what regulation needs to target.
Though I don't believe that when someone talks about a "disposable" product, they mean that "this is a product that you will dispose of before you die". Usually "disposable" means that it's meant to have a short lifetime.
A laptop or a smartphone are not "disposable" in that sense, even though we don't keep them for our lifetime.
But a disposable vape is very clearly on the side of "should not exist, period".
I really hope you are starting to understand the difficulty in regulating products like this. A lot of people don’t want to do the right thing.