I'm writing a story about hidden e-waste. Chips and electronics in products such as children's toys, shoes, clothes, etc.
Anyone has some funny / weird examples of products you don't expect to have chips / or that have no useful reason to have chips--but still do? Or examples of really throwaway electronics such as vapes?
Vapes are a doubly-stupid example. Most of them are disposable, but the lithium-ion cell inside them is rechargeable - they just don't provide a port to re-charge it with.
Yes, and many people do, collecting them off the ground around convenience stores or whatnot. Or from the store owners who have already collected them off the ground 😉
It's not a pleasant task, I gather - cracking open these vapes that are covered in residue and stink etc. And the cells in them are probably not the highest quality, and are likely the "unprotected" type, so you would want to add your own protection board (approximately free from AliExpress) to prevent over-charging and over-discharging.
Gerry McGovern
C.
Justin