Plastic when first appeared, it attracted attention as the
miracle material. Plastics made it possible for man to reach moon, it
modernized medicine, and helped make computers and cellphones possible.
Other than these benefits, plastic has a darker side. The
world generates over 350 million tons of plastic waste every year, and over
one-fifth of that is mishandled. As a result, plastic waste can now be found
everywhere on Earth, from the highest peaks to the deepest seas. There is also proof
that plastics at the Nano scale can pass through cell walls.
This infographic takes data from Keeping America Beautiful’s
2020 National Litter Study and asks the question: what is the most littered single-use
plastic item in the United States?
2020 National Litter Study
A staggering 9.7 billion cigarette filters make them the
single-most littered item in the United States. This figure is nearly one-fifth
(19.6%) of all littered items. If we line up these cigarette filters
end-to-end, they would wrap around the Earth five times.
|
Waste type |
Number of pieces littered |
|
Cigarette filters |
9,697,652,100 |
|
Plastic film (non-food) |
2,839,486,700 |
|
Plastic film (food) |
2,574,609,700 |
|
Expanded polystyrene (non-food) |
1,356,464,400 |
|
Non-film plastic food packaging |
649,688,000 |
|
Beverage packaging |
587,076,000 |
|
Expanded polystyrene (food) |
583,235,600 |
|
Single-serve wine & liquor |
325,476,500 |
|
Plastic bags |
307,365,600 |
|
Water bottles |
275,372,600 |
Considering the fact that 240.9 billion cigarettes were sold
in the U.S. in 2022, and that more than 80% of cigarette filters are littered,
it is probable that this number is conservative in reality and likely only a
small portion of the true figure.
These findings are in line with other international studies.
Cigarette filters are regularly the number one most-collected items during the
Ocean Conservancy’s annual International Coastal Cleanup.
Other key source of plastic litter reported were food and
beverage containers of various kinds, representing half of the top 10. Surprisingly,
plastic bags were only number nine, possibly because of the success of bans at
the state and local level.
Cigarette Filters Are Not Biodegradable
There is a common misconception that cigarette filters are
biodegradable. Biodegradation is the process of breakdown of organic matter by
microorganisms, and regardless of their almost cotton-like appearance,
cigarette filters are actually made from a form of plastic named as cellulose
acetate.
Plastics damage in the environment, often through exposure
from the Ultra Violet rays of sun, breaking down into smaller and smaller
pieces. But eventually, plastic becomes a part of the food we eat, and even the
air we breathe.
According to research, cigarette filters can take years to
degrade, from 18 months to 10 years, causing significant harm to the
environment in the process.
How to Deal with the World’s Number One Plastic Pollution Problem?
Greenbutts provides a solution to the problem caused by normal cigarette filters. Greenbutts has developed a certified biodegradable, plant-based alternative to the world’s number one plastic pollution problem.
