Discarded cigarette butts

Cigarette butts are one of the most most common forms of litter in the world and they are not biodegradeable – the filters are made of plastic cellulose acetate fibres that trap nicotine and tar. Butts can take 18 months to 10 years to fully degrade. The used butts are often washed out to sea after been flicked on the ground and a study has found one cigarette butt in a litre of water is enough to kill fish.

Rights: The University of Waikato Te Kura Toi Tangata Faculty of Education

Published: 25 October 2019Size: 6.09 MB