Although smoking rates have fallen, cigarette butts seem to be everywhere, scattered along green spaces, sidewalks, roadsides, beaches, waterways – practically everywhere we go.
It's no surprise, then, that cigarettes are the most discarded item on the ground. Worldwide, about 4.5 trillion cigarettes are thrown away each year. What does all this cigarette waste mean for the environment? Here is some basic information about the environmental impact of cigarette butts.
How much waste comes from cigarettes?
Cigarettes make up more than a third - almost 38% - of all collected waste. Throwing cigarettes on the ground or out of the car is so common that 75% of smokers report doing it.
All these cigarette butts cost a lot to clean. Cities spend between $3 million and $16 million on cigarette cleanup.
Is cigarette waste toxic?
Yes! Discarded cigarette butts release toxic chemicals – such as arsenic (used to kill rats) and lead, to name a few – into the environment and can contaminate water. Toxic exposure can poison fish as well as animals that eat cigarette butts.
What does a typical cigarette filter contain?
It may look like cotton, but 98 percent of cigarette filters are made of plastic fibers (cellulose acetate) that are tightly wound together, leading to an estimated 1.69 billion pounds of cigarette butts ending up as toxic waste each year.
Are cigarettes biodegradable?
No – the plastic fibers in cigarettes are non-biodegradable, meaning they are not broken down organically by living organisms.
How long does it take for cigarettes to decompose?
Although cigarettes do not decompose naturally, they can gradually decompose depending on environmental conditions such as rain and sun. Estimates of the time needed vary, but a recent study found that a cigarette butt was only about 38% decomposed after two years.
