Cigarette butts are the most-littered item and a hidden plastic pollutant
#00076
Trillions of cigarette butts are dropped each year and only about a third reach a bin. Their plastic filters leach toxicants and fragment into microplastics over years — making them both the most numerous litter item and a persistent contaminant of soil and water.
#00088Multi-component cigarette-litter prevention programs
Combine more and better-placed ashtrays, free pocket ashtrays, public awareness that filters are plastic, and modest enforcement — sustained as a coordinated program rather than a one-off, typically halving butt litter where measured.