Last year NBC News named cigarette butts as the single greatest source of ocean pollution – far surpassing the recently demonized plastic straws or single use plastic bags. The momentum of banning plastic straws continues to grow with major corporations taking up the fight and gradually phasing out straws completely. However, many experts believe that the focus of ocean pollution and litter should really be on – cigarette butts – cigarette litter which decorates Costa Rican beaches and sidewalks, while people just ignore or step over it.
According to the Global Adult Tobacco Survey (GATS), jointly conducted by the WHO and US Centers for Disease Control, 9% of Costa Rica’s population smokes on a daily basis, meaning 300,000 Ticos can be considered regular smokers. What happens to all of that cigarette waste? It usually makes it way to the beaches and oceans for which Costa Rica is so well known, and that needs to stop.
Cigarette filters are the nasty culprits in this eco-hazard. They are made of tiny plastic particles that take decades or more to decompose, meanwhile damaging habitats, poisoning fish, leaching chemicals into human foods, and costing millions for disposal and clean-up. According to the World Health Organization (WHO), cigarette filters were created in the early 1950s by the tobacco industry as a “healthier” alternative to unfiltered cigarettes. The WHO now reports, “As we now know, claims that filtered cigarettes were healthier were fraudulent.”
There is now a global campaign called Cigarette Butt Pollution Project which hopes to eradicate cigarette butts and tobacco waste from the environment. According to the project, out of 5.6 trillion filtered cigarettes made each year, almost two-thirds are disposed of irresponsibly. Most of these filters contain harsh chemicals like nicotine, arsenic, and heavy metals, wrapped in cellulose acetate, a nearly indestructible plastic filter coating, the same plastic often used to make sunglasses.
According to the WHO, “Tossing a cigarette butt on the ground has become one of the most accepted forms of littering and borders on a social norm for many smokers.” Flick! “This toxic waste ends up on our streets, in our drains and in our water. Research has shown that harmful chemicals leached from discarded butts, can be acutely toxic to aquatic organisms.”
Concern over harmful second hand smoke has led smokers around the world to move outside to smoke, where they often throw their butts on the ground to discard them. They then become not just an aesthetic concern, but a pollution hazard. Discarded cigarette butts are carried via runoff from streets to drains, to rivers, and ultimately to the ocean and its breaches. According to the Cigarette Butt Pollution Project, “Cigarette filters are the single most collected item picked up from the beaches every year.” “One cigarette butt soaked in a liter of water for 96 hours leaches out enough toxins to kill half of the fresh or salt water fish exposed to them.”
According to GATS, “This is of great concern to Costa Rica, a country with great biodiversity, a beautiful coastline, and successful ecotourism industry …. Costa Rica should commence programs to educate its citizens about the importance of disposing of cigarettes properly.” WHO recommends Costa Rica raises the excise tax on cigarettes this year. Currently, Costa Rica excise tax accounts for 60% of the retail price of cigarettes – 10% below WHO’s recommended level.
Who is ultimately responsible for cigarette butt pollution? Is it the companies who make filtered cigarettes for sale, or the smokers themselves? Who is responsible for cleaning them up? These are questions yet to be answered, but Costa Rica as a leader in environmental protection, will certainly have to confront these issues in the years to come. The Cigarette Butt Pollution Project shines a strong light on the path to cleaner oceans and beaches in Costa Rica and around the globe. Contact them for more information at https://www.cigwaste.org.
According to the Global Adult Tobacco Survey (GATS), jointly conducted by the WHO and US Centers for Disease Control, 9% of Costa Rica’s population smokes on a daily basis, meaning 300,000 Ticos can be considered regular smokers. What happens to all of that cigarette waste? It usually makes it way to the beaches and oceans for which Costa Rica is so well known, and that needs to stop.
Cigarette filters are the nasty culprits in this eco-hazard. They are made of tiny plastic particles that take decades or more to decompose, meanwhile damaging habitats, poisoning fish, leaching chemicals into human foods, and costing millions for disposal and clean-up. According to the World Health Organization (WHO), cigarette filters were created in the early 1950s by the tobacco industry as a “healthier” alternative to unfiltered cigarettes. The WHO now reports, “As we now know, claims that filtered cigarettes were healthier were fraudulent.”
There is now a global campaign called Cigarette Butt Pollution Project which hopes to eradicate cigarette butts and tobacco waste from the environment. According to the project, out of 5.6 trillion filtered cigarettes made each year, almost two-thirds are disposed of irresponsibly. Most of these filters contain harsh chemicals like nicotine, arsenic, and heavy metals, wrapped in cellulose acetate, a nearly indestructible plastic filter coating, the same plastic often used to make sunglasses.
According to the WHO, “Tossing a cigarette butt on the ground has become one of the most accepted forms of littering and borders on a social norm for many smokers.” Flick! “This toxic waste ends up on our streets, in our drains and in our water. Research has shown that harmful chemicals leached from discarded butts, can be acutely toxic to aquatic organisms.”
Concern over harmful second hand smoke has led smokers around the world to move outside to smoke, where they often throw their butts on the ground to discard them. They then become not just an aesthetic concern, but a pollution hazard. Discarded cigarette butts are carried via runoff from streets to drains, to rivers, and ultimately to the ocean and its breaches. According to the Cigarette Butt Pollution Project, “Cigarette filters are the single most collected item picked up from the beaches every year.” “One cigarette butt soaked in a liter of water for 96 hours leaches out enough toxins to kill half of the fresh or salt water fish exposed to them.”
According to GATS, “This is of great concern to Costa Rica, a country with great biodiversity, a beautiful coastline, and successful ecotourism industry …. Costa Rica should commence programs to educate its citizens about the importance of disposing of cigarettes properly.” WHO recommends Costa Rica raises the excise tax on cigarettes this year. Currently, Costa Rica excise tax accounts for 60% of the retail price of cigarettes – 10% below WHO’s recommended level.
Who is ultimately responsible for cigarette butt pollution? Is it the companies who make filtered cigarettes for sale, or the smokers themselves? Who is responsible for cleaning them up? These are questions yet to be answered, but Costa Rica as a leader in environmental protection, will certainly have to confront these issues in the years to come. The Cigarette Butt Pollution Project shines a strong light on the path to cleaner oceans and beaches in Costa Rica and around the globe. Contact them for more information at https://www.cigwaste.org.
