Commentary: Cigarette butts, the forgotten killer plastic pollution

They are a common eyesore on our streets, our parks, our beaches and in our waterways.

Cellulose acetate fibres, like other microplastics, are also a common contaminant found throughout the world’s ecosystems, even accumulating at the bottom of the deep sea. Ingestion can cause vomiting and, in some cases, convulsions. The leachates from cigarette butts can be toxic to aquatic organisms such as bacteria, crustaceans, worms and fish.Yet despite the prevalence of cigarette butts as litter in our parks and green spaces, our understanding of their effects on life on land is very limited.The pesticide nicotine is thought to reduce the number of nest ectoparasites, which is beneficial for the birds’ offspring.

We tested butts from smoked and unsmoked regular and menthol cigarettes, as well as butt-sized wooden dowels to compare the effect of simply having an inert object on top of the soil. But given the importance of plants as our primary producers of food, not to mention their role in making our environment more pleasant, there is clearly a need to reduce cigarette butt litter.Some have suggested banning the filters outright, claiming that the health benefits are only minimal and not enough to justify their existence.

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