Contrary to popular belief, the cigarette butt is the biggest polluter of the oceans. Once consumed, the cigarette butt is the most discarded waste in nature. It should be known that not less than 137 000 cigarette butts are thrown every second in the ocean. This is equivalent to 3,340 packs of cigarettes. Nearly 40% of them end up in the Mediterranean Sea, mainly because of the sea currents!
Serious environmental consequences
Despite a growing awareness, cigarette butts are still present in our environment. A cigarette butt degrades with difficulty, between 12 and 15 years. It contains no less than 2,500 toxic substances. Among these, there are between 100 and 250 that are carcinogenic and highly harmful to the environment and the marine ecosystem. We can mention: pesticides, nicotine, phenol, tar, heavy metals, arsenic, etc. As a reminder, a cigarette butt can pollute up to 500 liters of water by itself.
Marine biodiversity is increasingly threatened
Beyond the degradation of butts in the marine environment, tests have been conducted on crustaceans or shrimp, for example, to define the transfer of toxic materials and their impact on living organisms. The results are indisputable: 1 butt can contaminate 1 kg of sediments, which leads to the mortality of all the individuals that have been exposed.
A robust and dangerous pollutant
In terms of the composition of the cigarette butt, one of the most dangerous factors is the filter. Indeed, the filter contains plastic which, when immersed, does not degrade or very little. Over time, the plastic material that makes up the filter will gradually break down into numerous microplastics, which will eventually be ingested by fish thinking they are food. These microplastics, not being able to be digested, will then accumulate in the stomach of the fish and will then give a feeling of satiety. Thus, butts decimate an incalculable number of fish, which has a destructive impact on the already fragile balance of the ecosystem and marine biodiversity. This is a real health issue for our planet.
Simple actions for promising results
Throwing a cigarette butt in the nature is terribly harmful, it is necessary to change the behavior. We encourage, through awareness, to participate in the collection and throw the butts in garbage cans intended for the circuits of household waste or even better, in the various ashtrays dedicated to the collection and recycling of butts. This plague can only be stopped by our common will to act. More than a citizen action, we are all actors of the survival of our planet. And will thus be brought to destroy half of the living beings that it will have contaminated, and this, in only four days.