Recycling cigarette butts.
YouTube / National Geographic
That smoking is harmful goes without saying: What many do not know is that cigarette butt waste continues to cause harm after it is flicked away carelessly. The toxic, non-biodegradable remnants of cigarettes contribute to approximately 1.69 billion pounds of waste each year, much of which shows up as the world’s number one litter, appearing on streets, sidewalks and in storm drains. The toxicity of cigarette butts are harmful to wildlife, and even reports at Poison Control Centers have been due to children becoming sick after ingesting them. Further, the filter’s spun fibers, made initially as a measure in the ‘50s and ‘60s as a way to make cigarettes safer, are made of cellulose acetate, a plastic that is also used for film base in photography, magnetic tape, playing cards, toothbrushes and sunglasses. Since the material does not readily break down, it is often found in the stomachs of fish, birds and animals that have unwittingly mistaken the butts for food.
Photo by Justin Sullivan/Getty Images
That is why many innovators have been trying to find solutions to combat the damage that comes out of cigarette smoking. The Independent on June 22 points to one such solution. An Indian company called Karma has created special cigarette filters that contain seeds so that smokers “are not littering anymore, but planting trees.” The filters are made from abiodegradable pulp containing no harmful chemicals that might otherwise inhibit the growth of the seeds contained within the paper. The pulp based paper is also made well enough to protect the seeds so that they are able to grow once they are flicked away.
It is not an original idea. Another innovator, designer Ben Forman, created a product called Cigg Seeds based on the ugly factor of cigarette butt waste. His biodegradable butts contain wild flower seeds and when tossed, sprout and then bloom, making littering suddenly a social and beautifying service.
Both Cigg Seeds and Karma have received flack for their innovations as being flawed, though. The first and foremost reason is that the very nature of both products encourages smokers to litter. The second, and quite possibly more important reason, is that the products could very well introduce non-native plant life that could cause another kind of damage.
It’s bad enough that many cigarette smokers are oblivious that improperly discarding cigarette butts causes significant harm. The unthinking act of propelling cigarette butts through the air once they’re used up, which far too often contributes to wildfires and the poisoning of wildlife, continues. Trillions of cigarettes are smoked and discarded every year, despite the increase in smoking bans and anti-smoking campaigns.
While some companies like Terracycle make park benches and other useful products out of cigarette butt waste, many other solutions are needed. Well-meaning creators of products such as Cigg Seeds and Karma obviously see that cigarette smokers haven’t been swayed from their habits. PSAs informing the public that cigarette butts are indeed litter have been on air for decades. The solution, however, doesn’t seem to lie in making smokers feel better about improperly discarding their butts.
A company called GreenButts carries the mission of staving off the flow of 5 trillion non-biodegradable cigarette butts by making filters from a combination of flax, hemp, cotton and other natural materials that break down in a matter of days after they are discarded. Their filters will be incorporated into other brands’ cigarettes as an alternative to the filters made of plastic fibers. It would be heartening to see GreenButts filters being used in all cigarettes, especially in lieu of the fact that smoking is a considerable enough problem to cause such havoc on public health and the environment. Further, since smokers continue to suck cigarettes down, GreenButts and possibly other products like it could help lessen a problem that seems to otherwise compound to no end.
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