Big Tobacco’s Toxic Waste Dodge. Code Blue
Bialous SA. Cigarette Butts: Big Tobacco’s Toxic Waste Dodge. Code Blue. 7 June 2022. “Cigarette butts are one of the most littered items in the world. The filters they contain were a marketing strategy by tobacco companies in the 1950s to address health concerns. They offer no protection to smokers, but release 300,000 tonnes of microplastics each year…
‘Extended producer responsibility’ — allocating responsibility for environmental harm to the tobacco industry — may be the way forward. It would see policymakers impose a fee to address the costs of waste linked to cigarettes…. Tobacco companies are aware of the environmental impact of filters, but they have not developed biodegradable replacements. They also want to prevent any sort of ‘litter tax’, as part of their overall efforts to oppose taxation.
To deflect criticism, tobacco companies deployed a public relations and marketing campaign focused on “clean-up” efforts in high-visibility areas such as beaches. These widespread campaigns do not address the environmental problems related to toxic tobacco-product waste — or the source of the pollution. And the butts collected, just a fraction of the total, are still toxic waste.”
https://codeblue.galencentre.org/2022/06/07/big-tobaccos-toxic-waste-dodge/
Comment: Banning smoking on all beaches could eliminate some of the environmental damage from the tobacco industry’s ‘butt’ waste. Banning plastic cigarette filters would go a long way to reduce toxic plastic pollution on land and in the sea.
Stephen Hamann
