Cigarette butts are a major problem worldwide, causing environmental damage. They are not biodegradable, and the cellulose acetate in the filter releases toxic chemicals into the environment. Cigarette butt leachates are toxic to aquatic organisms using standard acute fish bioassays. They are also difficult to dispose of because they do not belong in trash bins.
Air Pollution
Cigarette butt waste is a major source of air pollution. Cigarette butts produce more than ten substances, including formaldehyde, nicotine, arsenic, lead, copper, chromium, and cadmium, when they are burnt. In addition, butts release hydrocarbons and other volatile organic compounds into the air. These chemicals can damage vegetation and soil and contaminate waterways, lakes, rivers, and oceans. Cigarette waste is also a significant source of litter. According to one study, cigarette butts comprise over 38 percent of all rubbish collected in the United States. They can be found on roadsides, sidewalks, and public areas, contaminating grass, soil, and waterways. They also contribute to fires and are a risk to animals and humans who might ingest them.
Cigarette butts remain a problem in many places despite a decreasing smoking rate. They are the most frequently littered item on beaches and coastal environments, contributing to the overall marine debris problem. According to the International Coastal Cleanup, cigarette butts were the most common item recovered during this global volunteer cleanup effort.
Several policy approaches can help reduce the impact of this problem, including the cigarette butt pollution project. Using biodegradable filters, increasing fines and penalties for littering butts, instituting monetary deposits on filter packs, and making cigarette-free zones more common can all help to reduce this issue. Mandatory take-back policies, like those for electronics or pharmaceuticals, could also facilitate this waste.
Water Pollution
Cigarette butts are one of the primary sources of water pollution. They leach chemicals into the environment and represent an ingestion, choking and poisoning hazard for aquatic wildlife that mistake them for food. The filters, made of cellulose acetate (which can be broken down into smaller plastic fibers) and nicotine, are toxic to fish and other aquatic life. In one laboratory study, a single cigarette butt was found to kill half of the fish exposed to its leachates for just 24 hours.
Smokers discard billions of butts yearly; many are carelessly tossed directly into the environment. They collect on sidewalks and parking lots, where they may be swept into storm drains that empty into streams, rivers, or coastal waters. In addition, they clog pipes and drains on people’s properties, adding to maintenance costs for municipalities.
Many cities and states label cigarette butts as toxic waste and require that they be removed from the environment. Butt cleanup is expensive; for example, it estimates it spends $11 million annually on the effort. To reduce this pollution, communities should ensure no smoking areas in public places where butts can be discarded and encourage smokers to use ashtrays when out of doors. Mandatory take-back policies can reduce waste from single-use filters by transferring responsibility to manufacturers and demanding that they consider redesigning products for environmental benefits.
Soil Pollution
Cigarette butts are composed of a plastic material called cellulose acetate that can take decades to break down and degrade. When cigarette butts are left to decompose in the soil, they release dangerous chemicals into the environment, which can poison or harm organisms that live in the ground and affect human health. The toxins that leach out of discarded cigarette filters can also poison marine life when they reach bodies of water. These chemicals, which include nicotine and ethylphenol, are toxic to fish and seabirds at concentrations of one butt per liter of water. When swimming near beaches, sea turtles, dolphins, and whales frequently mistake cigarette butts for food, which can lead to their ingesting plastic debris.
Many governments are attempting to deal with the problem of cigarette butt littering by raising the cost of cigarettes or charging smokers a fee for disposing of their butts in designated bins. These policies, as well as public education campaigns and installing more ash receptacles, can greatly reduce the amount of cigarette butt litter found in local environments.
Other countries are trying to go further upstream by imposing taxes or bans on tobacco manufacturers to encourage them to use only biodegradable filters in their products. Although cigarette butts are not considered hazardous waste, they contaminate urban soil and dust and may impact human health.
Human Health
Cigarette butt waste is a significant source of pollution for the environment and human health. The filter, which looks like cotton but is made from a synthetic plastic called cellulose acetate, takes years to biodegrade, sending tiny bits of fiber into the ocean and rivers. The fibers trap and carry toxic chemicals that leach into the surrounding environment, including arsenic, cadmium, copper, lead, chromium, and polyaromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs).
Studies also show cigarette butts can cause fires and block waterways, contributing to erosion and soil contamination. They also include tar, a complicated combination of thousands of compounds, some carcinogenic compounds. Tobacco cultivation requires large amounts of pesticides, fertilizers and other chemicals that can disrupt natural ecosystems. Smokers also contribute to litter by throwing away their butts, which can be blown or washed into storm drains that flow directly into rivers and the sea. Public agencies spend millions of dollars a year cleaning up abandoned cigarette butts because they are the most frequent item discovered during beach cleanups. Environmental groups have worked to change smokers’ habits by spreading awareness through public education, putting more bins for discarded butts in place, and offering reusable pocket ashtrays. Sadly, these initiatives have not been able to lessen or end smokers’ ingrained butt-flicking habits.