The most alarmist was probably an offering from The Atlantic, which was headlined: “Throw Out Your Black Plastic Spatula/It’s probably leaching chemicals into your cooking oil.”

Non-biodegradable coffins are often made with harmful chemicals and bodies are embalmed using formaldehyde: a toxic substance which can leach into soil.

They leach into the soil from landfills, have been spread on farms in fertilizer sludge, and eventually end up in waterways.

As well as lithium-ion batteries, vapes also contain circuit boards which - if not disposed of properly - can leach toxic compounds such as cobalt and copper into the environment as they degrade.

Toxic chemicals and heavy metals have been detected that could be leaching into the sediment — something local officials are not equipped to clean up on their own.