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One Simple Thing You Can Do: Cigarette Butts

Our little everyday habits add up to great impacts on the environment. Be a part of the solution, not the problem.

Cigarette Butts


Don't think throwing down that little filter really makes a difference?  Check out these stats.  

According to the National Center for Biotechnology Information, an estimated 4.5 trillion cigarette butts are discarded world-wide annually.  "That is 1.69 billion pounds of debris - 80% of which ends up in the world's waterways and oceans."  

When the Ocean Conservancy had a coastal trash pickup in 2012, cigarette butts outnumbered all other types of trash, coming in at well over two million butts.  

A study conducted by the California Department of Transportation found that cigarette butts make up 34 percent of the total waste captured in California. 

The 195 toxins that leach out of cigarette butts are lethal to aquatic animals, and no, they do not biodegrade completely. There's no way numbers like this aren't effecting the health of the coast.  

So, simply bringing your cigarette butts to the nearest trash can would be a great help. You could carry an Altoid tin or aluminum foil with you if you are concerned about storing extinguished butts in your pocket before you have access to a bin.  Just make sure that it's completely extinguished so it doesn't pose a fire hazard.  Thank you for making a small effort, you really do make a difference!

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