1.
Cigarette
butt litter is the world’s greatest environmental litter problem
2.
Globally,
approximately 4.3 trillion cigarette butts are littered every year. Smokers in
the USA account for over 250 billion cigarette butts, in the UK 200 tonnes of
butts are discarded, and Australian smokers litter over 7 billion cigarette
butts annually. In most Western countries cigarette butt litter accounts for
around 50% of all litter.
3.
Almost
1 in 3 cigarette butts end up as litter – see the diagram below from
Nolan – ITU to understand where butts are littered and how they impact
the environment
4.
Cigarette
butt litter dramatically increases where indoor smoking bans are implemented.
5.
In
Australia, NSW smokers throw away enough butts to fill 7 Olympic swimming
pools. Up to 350,000 butts end up in Port Phillip Bay, Victoria and waterways
every day
6.
It
can take up to 12 years for a cigarette butt to break down
7.
Cigarette
butts can leach chemicals such as cadmium, lead and arsenic into our marine
environment within an hour of contact with water
8.
Cigarette
butts have been found in the stomachs of fish, whales, birds and other marine
animals which leads to ingestion of hazardous chemicals and digestive blockages
9.
Smokers
in many countries can be fined for flicking a lit cigarette
10. And the final and
most important thing to know about cigarette butt litter is: Only smokers can stop
cigarette butt litter. We need to educate them that butts are litter, and
provide a positive alternative to littering.
This
website is designed to show you how to participate in BUTTsOUT global campaigns
that assist entire communities to reduce cigarette butt litter, Our goal is to
implement sustainable solutions that see individual smokers taking financial
and personal responsibility for their litter. Our campaigns engage smokers and
non-smokers alike.
Ten things you should know about cigarette butt litter
