By Journal Staff

MARQUETTE — Starting Sunday, Kenny’s Corner Store will have a drop-off vape disposal container to reduce the amount of hazardous waste going into the local environment.

The local Marquette-based environmental group Citizens spearheaded this initiative for a Safe & Clean Lake Superior. CSCLS and Kenny’s are partnering with the Marquette County Solid Waste Management Authority to take on this responsibility.

According to CSCLS Director Jane Fitkin, disposable nicotine vape devices have come with hefty environmental consequences in tandem with their rise in popularity. Marquette County has “very limited” infrastructure for properly disposing of them.

Inside a disposable vape’s hard plastic outer component and mouthpiece, it contains a lithium-ion battery and a nicotine cartridge. Both the battery and the cartridge are considered hazardous waste. Nicotine and lithium are toxic to wildlife and poison water sources when littered and lithium batteries can cause fires in landfills or wherever they end up.

Additionally, the lithium and other minerals in the batteries, though fully recyclable, are lost when these devices are improperly disposed of. Fitkin said in a news release that in 2022, the Bureau of Investigative Journalism reported that 150 million of these devices are thrown away each year in the U.S., containing enough lithium to power around 6,000 electric vehicles.

Matt Blondeau, owner of Kenny’s, said in the release that he is “glad the store can help provide a benefit to our

community and protect the environment.”

Fitkin added that “we’ll be providing collection bags and instructions at Kenny’s to spread the

word to other consumers as well. Our hope is to divert the hazardous waste contained in

disposables from our landfills and waterways and recapture the minerals contained in the

batteries to reduce mining pressures for these infinitely recyclable materials.