Recently, people have begun to realise just how bad plastic straws are for the environment, especially because of how common they are. Many corporations have begun banning them their stores, but there's another universal pollutant that remains untouched.
According to a report from NBC News we've been looking at the wrong culprit this whole time. Plastic straws are bed sure, but there's a different man-made product that's the worst ocean pollutant. That's cigarette butts.
The report focuses on the Cigarette Butt Pollution Project, largely backed by a tobacco industry academic in the US, assemblyman from California, and worldwide surfing organization. They hope to unite activists raising awareness about the health risks of smoking, and those wary of the damage to the environment.
Of course, no matter how polluting cigarette butts are, the group can't possibly get everyone to stop smoking. Instead, they're trying to ban cigarette filters. These are made from cellulose acetate, a plastic product that can take over 10 years to decompose. And according to NBC, at least two-thirds of the 5.6 trillion filtered cigarettes manufactured each year are dumped recklessly, eventually making their way to the oceans.
Thomas Novotny a public health professor and founder of the movement, told NBC that people may think filtered cigarettes are less damaging to your lungs. However, he insists, it's just a marketing ploy, and one that results in people smoking more.
According to The Ocean Conservancy group, more than 60 million cigarette butts have been collected on the world's beaches in the past 32 years. While only some of that is from people flicking their cigarettes away at the beach, the rest is largely washing onto the shore after flowing into the ocean from drains, streams, and rivers. These cigarette butts also break down into harmful microplastics, and researchers have found residue from them in 70 percent of sea birds and 30 percent of sea turtles. So you can imagine how much is in the fish we eat.
Even tobacco companies in the US have been wary of the mounting cigarette butt pollution, more because they fear being held responsible for the damaging effects. They've researched biodegradable filters, but not to much avail, and have tried to carry out programs to install public ashtrays and dole out free portable ashtrays to smokers. But, for various reasons, smokers just prefer to flick the butt away.
So until we find a biodegradable filter that works for us, or manage to ban them entirely, the butts are just going to pile up in the oceans.