Effect of Disposable E-cigarettes on Plant Growth

Abstract

Proper disposal of batteries is a very important task we face. Unrecycled batteries have the potential to harm many ecosystems around the world by leaching harmful pollutants into the earth. It is very important we keep track of all waste that will increase a landfill's ecotoxicity. Disposable e-cigarettes pose a threat to add millions of batteries and concentrated nicotine into our litter and landfills that could possibly have detrimental effects on ecosystems. To study the effect of disposable e-cigarettes we planted seeds of two fast growing plants: wheat (Triticum) and beans(Phaseolus vulgaris) and observed the effects of a prepared e-cigarettes solution on the germination and growth of plants. Our results show that both biomass produced, and germination success of wheat and bean seeds decreased with the addition of e-cigarette solutes. Overall, the data highlights the possible negative impacts improper disposal of these devices can have on the environment and can be used to support regulation of their recycling and management.