Once the cigarette is finished, all that is left is a stinky butt. So...
Once the cigarette is finished, all that is left is a stinky butt. So...
Cigarette butts are the remaining portion of a smoked cigarette made up of the leftover tobacco, paper, and the filter which for 90% of cigarettes is a material called cellulose acetate. This material is made by processing wood pulp with acetic anhydride and has been used as a negative film in photography since 1940. Tortoise shell glasses and safety glasses are traditionally made with cellulose acetate as well.
The 'Where Do Butts Go?' positive activism campaign has partnered with the Inland Ocean Coalition in support of their programs that create inland movements and build land-to-sea stewardship by encouraging citizens and communities to take an active role in improving the impacts and relationships between the inland, the coasts, and the ocean. Founded in Denver, Colorado the campaign seeks to aide existing IOC chapters in launching their own cigarette waste awareness and diversion campaigns, while encouraging additional inland communities to start chapters, and collaborating with groups around the world to share resources and knowledge to expand the movements reach.
Here's a fine example. According to research from the University of Mexico, the Urban Finch uses cigarette butts to line its nest to help keep the bugs away. They also found that chicks exposed to cigarette waste in the nest are more likely to have chromosomal defects which could lead to adverse effects when they're older. Could we be leading the Finch to their extinction?