Biologic Fate of Discarded Cigarette Butts

[deluxestogie]

Discarded cigarette butts are visible everywhere in urban areas, and along roadsides and in parks in rural areas as well. Even if you carefully discard cigarette butts into trash that heads to a landfill, they or their eventual residue persist and continue to be biologically toxic for at least a decade.

What happens to cigarette butts after 10 years in the environment

Cigarette butts are the most common form of litter worldwide. Trillions are discarded every year in cities, parks, beaches, along railway tracks and roadside environments. Despite their small size, these remnants of smoked cigarettes represent a persistent form of pollution because their filters...

phys.org

Bob

 

[Juxtaposer-]

Sad. I’m more worried about the satellites we are breathing.

 

[Commodore]

I prefer smoking no filters for this reason, plus you can control the drag a lot better. Currently, my cig of choice is the American Spirit no filters, but I mostly keep them around because of the convenience.
If only there was a a way to safely and securely bring a prepacked pipe places like concerts or work where I am doing a lot of physical activity and getting jostled around. Personally, I can't wait to blend and roll my own filtered cigarettes after this growing season.

 

[FmGrowit]

I'm more worried about getting hit in the head by a space rock, but I often wondered what ever happened to all of those cigarette butts.

 

[StoneCarver]

I'm more worried about getting hit in the head by a space rock

I wear a helmet made from watermelon rind to protect myself from falling space rocks and satelites. They're launching thousands of those things every year. What goes up must come down. Literally, the sky is falling!

If cigarette butts are made from cotton as many claim them to be, they ought to decompose eventually sometime in the next 10,000 years. Much of the human economy eventually becomes naught much more than an eyesore.

 

[deluxestogie]

If cigarette butts are made from cotton as

According to the linked article, cigarette filters are generally made of plastic polymer fibers:

"...their filters are made primarily of cellulose acetate—a plastic polymer derived from natural cellulose and highly resistant to environmental degradation and produced as tightly packed microscopic fibers."​

Bob

 

[StoneCarver]

ooh, ok. then maybe 100,000 years for them to break down rather than the 10,000 years I said above. I might be exaggerating but what do I know about entropy?
I've heard many o' cigarette smoker, including my own parents, say after flicking their butt on the ground "don't worry, its a cotton filter."
I always thought to myself "yeah right, convenient thing to say to keep everyone from hating you." For awhile I smoked cigarettes too, but I always tried to be responsible for my butts.
Roll out the cherry and put the butt in my pocket. if you don't like the smell, then don't smoke! No one needs a nic fix that bad.
I've heard that archaeologists will be characterizing the Anthropocene era in the geologic record by the presence of plastics. Such a proud species we are.

 

[deluxestogie]

I’m more worried about the satellites we are breathing.

The following dynamic image is not cigarette butts, but Starlink satellites—a different kind of litter.

"Each re-entry deposits about 30 kg of aluminum oxide into the upper atmosphere..."

Starlink - dynamic 3D orbit display

Satellite predictions and other astronomical data customised for your location.

heavens-above.com

Bob

 

[MadFarmer]

Discarded cigarette butts are visible everywhere in urban areas, and along roadsides and in parks in rural areas as well. Even if you carefully discard cigarette butts into trash that heads to a landfill, they or their eventual residue persist and continue to be biologically toxic for at least a decade.

What happens to cigarette butts after 10 years in the environment

Cigarette butts are the most common form of litter worldwide. Trillions are discarded every year in cities, parks, beaches, along railway tracks and roadside environments. Despite their small size, these remnants of smoked cigarettes represent a persistent form of pollution because their filters...

phys.org

Bob

This may have nudged me to exclusively smokey home grown sans filter. (It'll take another camping trip to be certain.)

 

[DaleB]

"Each re-entry deposits about 30 kg of aluminum oxide into the upper atmosphere..."

Just think, Bob. After a few thousand of those de-orbit we won't need to worry about ICBMs any more. They'll all get blasted with 60-grit until they fall apart. Might not be good for air travel, though.

 

[deluxestogie]

"In the wild, blue tits pick aromatic plants such as lavender and bring them back to their nests because the smells help repel blood-sucking parasites. In cities, they are doing something different, which is collecting discarded cigarette butts."​

Urban blue tits use discarded cigarette butts to protect their nests, study suggests

Discarded litter not only makes our streets and neighborhoods look untidy, but it can also pose a significant risk to wildlife. However, in a surprising development, a study published in the journal Animal Behaviour reports that blue tits are lining their nests with cigarette butts, which may...

phys.org

Bob

 

[StoneCarver]

In cities, they are doing something different, which is collecting discarded cigarette butts."

Since I have a pond in my backyard, I do get a lot of mosquitos. When I'm back there smoking tobacco particularly cigars, the mosquitos do not bother me.

 

[deluxestogie]

When I smoke cigars on my front porch, my mosquitoes ignore the smoke, and bite me, unless I apply repellent.

Bob

 

[MadFarmer]

Since I have a pond in my backyard, I do get a lot of mosquitos. When I'm back there smoking tobacco particularly cigars, the mosquitos do not bother me.

My grandfather was a daily tobacco chewer, and even the bees stayed away.