Litter by Little: Cigarette butts are toxic trash, but few people call it litter

Thursday, 27 September 2018

Flicking butts on the street is illegal but the Wellington City Council does not fine people for doing it.

Cigarette butts are all over New Zealand streets - but most wouldn't consider them litter at all.

Instead they're flicked on the ground and don't break down, and end up washing to sea.

People might not know that they're full of plastic and harmful toxins, said Keep NZ Beautiful chief executive Heather Saunderson.

'They get to the sea and the fish eat them, and we'll eat the fish.'

More than 4000 cigarette butts were found in a cleanup in Picton in the space of 1 1/2 hours.

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Areas around bars and restaurants are magnets for cigarette litter.

Saunderson said better public receptacles were the answer.

Two entrepreneurs in India have come up with a way to turn cigarette butts into good use.

People could also buy personal 'ash traps' to carry with them, which had no scent, she said.

'Councils are really passionate about going smokefree, but until you have the legislation that outlaws it, I don't think we can reduce the litter until we have better recepticals.'

Flicking butts on the street is also illegal, and some councils issue fines for it but not Wellington City Council.

Council spokesman Richard MacLean said the solution was peer-pressure, self-control and civic awareness by smokers.

'We could install more trays and bins but at the risk of just adding extra clutter to the city.'

Last year inner-city Wellington residents suggested beggars and beneficiaries could pick up butts as a form of public service, but the idea has not been picked up.

In Christchurch, a cigarette butt would fall within the $100 penalty range, but in 2017-18 no fines were issued.

Inner-City Wellington deputy chairwoman Geraldine Murphy said the move to E-cigarettes was positive to reduce litter.

In a council garden in Cuba St she once collected 500 cigarette butts in the space of 20 minutes.

People needed to look at the butts as litter, just like plastic, she said.

Sustainable Coastlines co-founder and lead Camden Howitt said a turtle in Rarotonga, was found to have swallowed about 400 cigarette butts.

'Whenever you are smoking you are affecting everyone who loves the beach, everyone who eats seafood, and those seawaters themselves.'

In the sea they don't break down - the filters are made of cellulose acetate fibres that trap nicotine and tar.

A study found one cigarette butt in a litre of water was sufficient to kill fish.

There was an 'amazing amount' of toxins in one cigarette, Howitt said.

A solution was better education.'There's a common perception that at the end of the day, if you flick your butt away, it's not littering.'

PICK, PIC AND BIN

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