Beaches polluted by cigarette butts

A sea of cigarette butts. And this time we can only blame our own little civic sense. While only a third of the cigarettes purchased and smoked regularly ends up in the garbage, during the summer the devastation is carried out: 40 percent of waste in the Mediterranean Sea It is made up of cigarette butts cigarettesCigarette butts at the beach far outnumber plastic bottles (9,5 percent of total waste), bags (8,5 percent), and aluminum cans (7,6 percent). Under these conditions, marine pollution caused by cigarette butts risks being even more serious than that caused by improper plastic disposal. The effect is devastating. butts, for example, increase the concentrations of iron, manganese, and zinc in marine environments. And in this way, they contribute to the acidification of the water. Furthermore, the filters of cigarettes They are made of a plastic material, cellulose diacetate, which releases substances that are harmful to the environment and to humans.

According to the Beach Litter survey, carried out every year by Legambiente su a sample of beaches Italian, there are 77 cigarette butts cigarettes for every hundred meters of beachAn incredible proportion, which cannot be attributed to fortuitous circumstances or even to a generic climate change, but only to the self-destructive incivility of men. This is also confirmed by the fact that on the beaches Italian cigarette butts cigarettes they have become the second most abandoned waste, after plastic.

But what are the main damages of cigarette butts? cigarettes abandoned on the beaches?

1. Microplastic pollution
The filters of the cigarettes they are made mainly of cellulose acetate, a plastic that does not biodegrade quickly. beach they slowly degrade and fragment into microplastics, which then enter the marine food chain.

2. Release of toxic substances
A cigarette butt is not "harmless": it retains hundreds of chemicals derived from the combustion of tobacco (nicotine, heavy metals, tar). In contact with sea water or rain, these substances can to leach and contaminate the surrounding environment.

3. Damage to marine fauna
Fish, shellfish and birds can:

ingesting cigarette butts, mistaking them for food
suffer toxic effects from nicotine and other compounds
accumulate microplastics in fabrics

This can lead to growth and reproduction problems and increased mortality.

4. Alteration of the coastal ecosystem
Even if a single cigarette has a small impact, the accumulation is huge: on the beaches tourist attractions often have thousands of them. This contributes to a general degradation of the coastal habitat, influencing sand quality and local biodiversity.

5. Aesthetic and tourist impact
In addition to the ecological damage, cigarette butts are among the wastes that most reduce the perceived quality of life. beaches, with economic consequences for tourism as well.

The butts of cigarettes They have a long life and last a long time. However, a distinction must be made between cigarettes Without and with a filter. In the first case, the butt dissolves in 6-12 months, as it is composed only of paper, specifically cellulose, and natural tobacco fibers. It is biodegradable. Things get much more complicated with the cigarettes provided with filter. In this case the decomposition time is around 10 years, and can reach up to 12 yearsA period of time during which the cigarette butt pollutes and suffocates a fish if it were to swallow it.

Cigarette butts on the beach: there are 77 for every 100 meters of coastline.

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