Let’s Nip Cigarette Pollution in the Butt

I’m the first to rant about plastic and the gravity of our unhealthy relationship with it, so I was slightly surprised to discover that the most littered item in the world isn’t actually plastic.

It’s cigarette butts.

Yup, those tiny little synthetic pieces that are supposed to “filter out” the harmful substances from tobacco are themselves causing harm elsewhere.

I can’t believe that wasn’t my first thought, but I think we have been desensitized to the point where cigarette butts aren’t even considered litter because it’s assumed that it’s ok since they’re everywhere. And on top of that, people are rarely ever punished for tossing them on the ground.

In a 2009 cleanup, the Ocean Conservancy removed 1,362,741 cigarettes and butts, 18,555 lighters, 74,399 cigar tips, and 36,397 tobacco packages from U.S. waterways.

It has become so commonplace to treat the earth as one giant ashtray never out of reach that it’s now more surprising to see someone find a proper place of disposal nowadays than toss the butt on the ground without even looking.

Only 10% of cigarette butts are properly disposed of in trash receptacles, according to Keep America Beautiful.

There is a common misconception that cigarettes might be biodegradable because they’re just made of paper and natural tobacco, right?

Wrong.

A filter made of cellulose acetate (a non-biodegradable synthetic fiber) was added to cigarettes in the 1950s as ties to lung cancer became more apparent, but the actual health benefits of filters aren’t exactly clear.

A 2009 study found that the filter material never really disappears. It just breaks apart due to UV rays from the sun and becomes diluted in the water or soil.

A lot of people might think they are doing the right thing by stomping out a cigarette and tossing it in the storm drain, but that’s definitely not the case.

The plastic filters are either dropped into drains or carried into them by stormwater runoff. From there, they will be carried to rivers and oceans where they can release toxic chemicals like nicotine, benzene, and cadmium.

In 2007 alone, 1.35 trillion filtered cigarettes manufactured in the United States, requiring roughly 680,000 tons of cellulose acetate.

Cigarettes and butts not only affect wildlife through the leaching of chemicals, but some animals actually mistake them for food and consume them directly.

Parallels can be drawn to the absence of trashcans increasing littering. Of course people will litter less if there is always a trashcan within reach, but it’s still our choice to consume whatever ended up as trash, so it’s our responsibility to get it to the right place.

Even more so when it comes to cigarettes, something that is not only a choice but a luxury.

Since the scale of the issue means it’s impossible to get people to actually take on that responsibility, some countries like France are looking to the tobacco companies to help take on some of the burden.

I have always considered America to be a considerably smoke-free country because of the ridiculous contrast that I experienced when visiting France. There’s a reason French people are always portrayed smoking cigarettes, but the country is doing a lot to change that.

France has been doing a lot to change that, successfully deterring 1 million smokers in 2017 alone. A lot of this was due to increased prices and initiatives like generic cigarette packs with graphic images of potential health effects.

The legal punishment for littering varies dramatically across state lines all the way from a $20 fine in Colorado to six years of imprisonment in Tennessee. In North Carolina, the average person throwing some garbage on the ground could be fined between $250 and $1,000, but honestly, who has ever heard of anyone actually

being fined?

One-quarter or more of the litter on streets and roadways in the United States is comprised of cigarette butts, so why is no one being fined? This isn’t a problem that will by solved by following smokers around, waiting to fine them as soon as they drop a butt on the ground.

We need to spread awareness on the consumer end, and demand changes on the producer side as well like using biodegradable filters and advocating for more places of proper disposal.

Greenbutts is a company that makes cigarette filters that biodegrade in just a matter of days.

 

If all 5 trillion cigarettes smoked annually had biodegradable filters, the difference in waste and environmental contamination would be outstanding. Imagine a world where you never have to see a cigarette butt on the ground again.

Let’s make it happen!

Happy sustainable cigarette disposing and advocating!

S.