No butts about it: Dumped cigarettes causing big problems

Dumped cigarette butts take years to decompose, add to plastic pollution, damage human and animal health and the environment

A large amount of tar is trapped in cigarette filters, which contain chemicals released from burning tobacco. The tar also has heavy metals like lead and arsenic, according to international studies

From all the noise about the ‘latte levy’ on takeaway coffee cups, you might think such cups were the main form of littering. Not so.

Something much smaller, often barely visible and crushed underfoot, is a bigger problem. The ubiquitous cigarette butt is the most commonly found litter around the world. Discarded filters take years to decompose, add to plastic pollution, damage human and animal health and the environment.

Surveys published by the Department of the Environment show that 54% of littering in Ireland is made up of cigarette waste. It’s as high as 60% in Dublin. Which prompts the question: Do we have a collective blind spot for this behaviour?

Not all smokers use cigarette bins — noxious chemicals and metals in cigarette waste are released into the environment. When the toxins hit soil or water, they affect plants and animals and the ecosystem

We’re probably so accustomed to seeing smokers throw away butts that we don’t take much notice. Some people still cast lighted butts onto footpaths and then stamp them out with their feet. Worse again, others throw butts out car windows. They obviously don’t see such actions as littering.

The situation seems to have deteriorated since Covid-19 restrictions meant more people started eating and drinking outdoors. Before that, of course, the smoking ban in public houses and public buildings forced smokers onto the streets with predictable consequences for littering.

Unfortunately, not all smokers use ashtrays and other receptacles provided in pub smoking areas, as can be seen from the evidence on streets around premises. That said, many publicans do regularly sweep outside their doors.

The bin in Cobh asking smokers to 'vote' with their cigarette butt

In parts of Cobh, Cork County Council has introduced yellow litter bins with slots for butts. Such bins have helped reduce butt littering by as much as 46% in other locations. A group of young entrepreneurs have opened a Filtra recycling facility for butts, in Ballyogan, Dublin, and the plastic is being converted into material for making glasses and other products.

Bins, which feed into Filtra, have been installed across Dublin and Conor Horgan, of Irish Business Against Litter, says there’s no reason why such bins can’t become fixtures in every town and city — if councils so desire.

A large amount of tar is trapped in cigarette filters, which contain chemicals released from burning tobacco. The tar also has heavy metals like lead and arsenic, according to international studies.

A sign in Cobh, County Cork, asking people to dispose of cigarette butts properly. Picture Denis Minihane.

The ScienceDirect website, which publishes research, points out that noxious chemicals and metals in cigarette waste are released into the environment. When the toxins hit soil or water, they affect plants and animals and the ecosystem.

On a positive note, chewing gum littering, once the bane of local authorities and notoriously difficult to remove from footpaths, has halved since 2016. Sweet papers might also seem to be a major source of street waste, but cigarette waste is six times more prevalent.