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Watershed Management Bureau
Carry It- Don't Bury It Campaign
In 2006, cigarette butts were the most common debris item collected at New Hampshire beach cleanups, according to the Blue Ocean Society for Marine Conservation, which runs several cleanup programs on our coastal beaches throughout the year with NHCP funding support. In addition, a startling 50,549 cigarette butts were collected from 26 sites along the coast and Great Bay on International Coastal Cleanup Day in September, 2006.
All smokers are not to blame; many smokers don't litter. Many that do toss their butts don't realize that they are contributing to the largest litter problem in the country. Some people assume the cigarette butts will break down in the environment, or someone will sweep them up off the beach or sidewalk, or that they are so small they won't make a difference.
While paper and tobacco are biodegradable, cigarette filters are not. Nearly all cigarette filters are made of cellulose acetate, a form of plastic, and they can take many years to degrade. When it rains, the water from the rain washes any debris, including cigarette butts, into nearby waterways or to storm drains that flow right to our lakes, rivers and oceans.
Cigarette butts are not just unsightly litter, they are also a hazard to wildlife, a health hazard to people, pollutants of our waters and soils, and a fire hazard.
Cigarette butts pose a health hazard to children and animals that eat them. According to the National Capital Poison Center, ingestion of more than three cigarette butts can cause serious illness in a toddler. Cigarette butts also contain tar, nicotine and toxic gases that contaminate our water. Butts have been found in the stomachs of fish, birds, whales and other marine creatures that mistake them for food. Littered cigarettes also cause numerous fires each year, some of them causing fatalities.
Actions to Help
Related Websites:
Other Cigarette Butt Outreach Campaigns
Project Partners and Coastal Cleanups
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