The issue of cigarette butt litter

Cigarette butts are one of the most littered items in the world. Fact. Individually they might seem insignificant, but they add up to a huge problem. They can take between three months and 15 years to break down when thrown away—and that means they play a role in the plastic pollution plaguing our planet.

What is a cigarette butt made of?

Many smokers simply aren’t aware of the environmental implications of throwing away their cigarette butts. They’re made of cellulose acetate, a type of bioplastic, and tens of thousands of them are littered every single second. 

While the chemicals they contain are present in such small amounts that they have no impact on the natural environment, all the plastic butts put together create a major part of the world’s litter problem.

If smokers continue throwing them away as much as they do now, within the next 10 years, there might be more cigarette butts in the ocean than fish. That’s a sobering thought. 

What can people do? 

Adults who smoke need to make some changes in how they think and how they act. Now. 

The solution is simple. If you’re an adult smoker, always stub out your cigarette butts and dispose of them properly in an ashtray or a bin. For the times you smoke far from an ashtray or bin, equip yourself with a portable ashtray.

But it’s hard to change a habit. That’s where smokers and nonsmokers can unite, by making smokers aware of the environmental impact of flicking their butts away. By asking businesses, event organizers, and manufacturers to provide more ashtrays and bins for smokers to put their butts in.