Socially accepted litter – cigarette butts

September 2019: Cigarette ends remain one of the most socially accepted and common forms of litter, but can inhibit plant growth and are hazardous to marine life. New evidence supports calls to ban single-use plastic cigarette filters, and highlights the need for policy intervention.

Information

Cigarette ends continue to be one of the most socially accepted and widely spread form of anthropogenic litter. New evidence suggests that their environmental impact is higher than previously thought, reducing plant growth by 27% due to leaching of nicotine, and heavy metals such as lead, nickel and sodium nitrate and into soil, and causing micro plastic pollution. There was little difference in impact between cigarette ends and whole cigarettes, suggesting that the main harmful component is the cellulose acetate fibre in the filter. This is a type of bioplastic that can take 10-15 years to degrade fully. The study further outlines that 10% of smokers do not consider dropping cigarette ends as littering, causing cities such as London to spend £3.8m per year on clean up. The study further outlines that littering cigarette butts causes increasing risks for inner city green spaces, pollinator habitats, and may have equal negative impacts on waterways and oceans, causing marine animals to mistake cigarette ends for food.

Implications & Opportunities

Leading experts have raised questions about the effectiveness of cigarette filters in reducing the harm of smoking and are calling for a ban on single-use filters. Other opportunities may be to place an additional charge on the tobacco industry covering clean-up costs, for cities to provide wide availability of ashtrays, and to implement strict fine systems, specifically addressing the littering of cigarettes. Additionally, outreach programs addressing the risks and harms of smoking could include the environmental risk factors of littering..

Limitations

The study was limited to cigarette ends in and around the city of Cambridge; hence, further study in other contexts is required to corroborate the findings.

Sources

Carvalho, J., & Starkey, T. (2019). Cigarette butts have adverse effects on initial growth of perennial ryegrass (gramineae: Lolium perenne L.) and white clover (leguminosae: Trifolium repens L.). Ecotoxicology and Environmental Safety, 109418. doi:10.1016/j.ecoenv.2019.109418 

BBC. (2019). Cigarette butts in soil hamper plant growth, study suggests. Retrieved from https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-49044422