A smart graduate has used 80 discarded vape batteries to power his e-scooter - to make a point about waste.<br /><br />Tobiasz Stanford, 23, says disposable vapes aren't as expendable as is claimed.<br /><br />So he scooped up around 80 discarded vapes and wired the lithium-ion batteries up to a scooter he bought for £30 on eBay.<br /><br />The scooter is now fully functioning and "very reliable", said CGI and visual effects grad Tobiasz.<br /><br />He wants to raise awareness about the effect vapes are having on the environment.<br /><br />Tobiasz, from Trowbridge, Wilts., said: "I use [the scooter] everyday and it's very reliable.<br /><br />"It can go up any hill, has been used in rain and has been driven through puddles.<br /><br />"The only downfall is that it's quite noisy but other than that the performance is crazy."<br /><br />"The amount of vapes I see on the street is really upsetting. These vape batteries have the potential to power a scooter.<br /><br />"They're very active still yet they're marketed as disposable. It needs to stop"<br /><br />Tobiasz discovered vapes used a lithium-ion battery - which can be recharged - after taking several apart.<br /><br />He began recharging the batteries and found after one cycle they could function "almost like a brand new battery".<br /><br />Tobiasz then noticed fellow students at his university in Stoke-on-Trent, Staffs., using e-scooters.<br /><br />So he decided to use his collection of vape batteries to build his own.<br /><br />He said: "I've always had a fascination with electronics and moving parts. I've always wondered how things work and have built things like my own drones before.<br /><br />"One day I saw my friend smoking a vape and began to wonder how they worked.<br /><br />"I used all different types of vapes. Some of them could have been recharged and reused five times before the vape liquid ran out.<br /><br />"I got all of the batteries for free and found a cheap offer for a scooter on eBay. The scooter didn't have good range and could only go to 16 kilometers per hour.<br /><br />"It took me a month or two to get it together and I had to be careful wiring up the batteries but now the scooter works better with the vape batteries than it did before.<br /><br />"Now it goes to 25kph and can go up any hill. I usually charge it overnight and can charge in about three hours.<br /><br />"Once it's fully charged I go around six miles everyday on it."<br /><br />Tobiasz says people are "wowed" when he tells them the small scooter is powered completely by disposable vape batteries.<br /><br />He said: "Everyone's quite surprised. My family and friends are completely shocked when they see what I've done.<br /><br />"It's a very small scooter and most people can't even tell it's even powered - never mind powered by vapes."<br /><br />Tobiasz says he wants others to know that disposable vapes can in fact be reused and believes there needs to be more restrictions on the sale of disposable vapes.<br /><br />He said: "We need to think about 'ewaste' with greater importance.<br /><br />"The amount of vapes I see on the street or in ponds - which have the potential to power a scooter - is so bad.<br /><br />"They're very active still. When those chemicals break down lithium will start to spill out.<br /><br />"The consequences of that will be ridiculous. It will happen over time.<br /><br />"We need to do what we can to stop this from happening and that includes banning disposable vapes."
