With the rise of environmentalism, more and more countries are paying attention to the severity of plastic pollution, and have successively introduced various plastic restriction policies to control marine pollution sources. First, plastic bags were targeted, then tableware, and recently straws. However, the number one man-made pollutant in the ocean is actually the small and ubiquitous cigarette filter. Discarded cigarette filters typically contain synthetic fibers and hundreds of chemicals, yet they fall outside the scope of regulation. According to NBC, the vast majority of the 5.6 trillion cigarettes produced worldwide each year are filters made of cellulose acetate, a type of plastic that can take 10 years or more to decompose. Surveys have found that up to two-thirds of cigarette filters are irresponsibly discarded each year. Since 1986, the Ocean Conservancy has sponsored beach cleanup efforts annually, and they have found that cigarette filters are the most collected trash on beaches worldwide, with over 60 million collected over 32 years, equivalent to one-third of all collected trash. Many cigarette filters contain irritating chemicals such as nicotine, arsenic, and heavy metals, which can have acute toxicity to aquatic life. Tobacco companies are not unaware of the cigarette filter pollution problem. For example, Santa Fe Natural Tobacco Company in the United States launched a cigarette filter recycling program, held a series of environmental protection activities, and will also launch portable ashtray products. This year, it has already distributed 4 million recycling bags to customers. However, most of these activities have been ineffective because most smokers are accustomed to littering. To clean up cigarette butts on the ground, some organizations have even come up with impractical solutions, such as a French amusement park recently training dozens of crows to collect cigarettes and other small pieces of trash. A World Health Organization (WHO) report points out that the tobacco industry created cigarette filters in the 1950s, claiming they made smoking a healthier alternative, but subsequent studies have found this claim to be fraudulent. Furthermore, tobacco waste contains a large number of toxic chemicals, including known human carcinogens, which leach and accumulate in the environment. As more people become aware of the environmental and health damage caused by cigarette filters, calls to ban them are growing, forcing the tobacco industry to seek more practical solutions. These include replacing traditional filters with paper or other materials like cotton, but smokers complain that these materials alter the taste of tobacco. Tobacco companies are now looking for biodegradable filter materials. For example, a San Diego-based startup, Greenbutts, has developed a filter made from organic materials such as Manila hemp, Tencel, wood pulp, and natural starch that decomposes rapidly in soil or water. The company says its product is ready for market and, if mass-produced, can be priced reasonably. However, government legislation is still needed before the problem can be effectively and quickly resolved. Source: TechNews (2018/09/06)
