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No butts
Galway city is not an ashtray. No butts.
Litter is anything small or large that is likely to become unsightly. This includes everything from sweet wrappers and cigarette butts to household rubbish and rubble.
Cigarette butts are litter
· Cigarette litter occurs as a result of inappropriate disposal of cigarette waste by smokers, for example, by dropping a cigarette end on the ground and crushing it under foot or by throwing it out a car window.
· It is illegal to throw a cigarette butt on the ground or out a car window (Litter Pollution Act, 1997). An on-the-spot fine of €150 can be incurred.
· In 2006, cigarette-related litter constituted the main percentage of litter in Ireland, accounting for almost 56% of total (source: National Litter Pollution Monitoring Survey; www.litter.ie)
· Cigarette butts are the most prevalent form of litter in Galway City.
· Common cigarette litter blackspots in Galway City include outside pubs and at roundabouts/junctions.
Cigarette butts are not biodegradable
· Cigarette butts are made from cellulose acetate, a form of plastic. They are not made from cotton, wool or paper (common perception).
· It can take up to 12 years for a cigarette end to break down.
Cigarette butts contain more than 4000 chemicals
· Cigarette butts are designed to capture vapours from a cigarette, reducing the amount of smoke inhaled. The captured smoke contains more than 4000 chemicals, including 43 known carcinogens, such as ammonia, nitrogen dioxide, formaldehyde, hydrogen, cyanide and arsenic.
· As the acetate filter in a cigarette butt starts to decompose, it releases these toxic chemicals into our natural environment.
Cigarette butts harm animal and marine life
· Within one hour of being in contact with water, a cigarette butt will start to leach toxic chemicals into the environment. 1 cigarette can contaminate up to 8 litres of water.
· Cigarette butts have been found in the stomachs of fish, birds, whales and other marine creatures who mistake them for food.
Cigarette litter is the worst environmental litter problem in the world
· The average smoker will throw away up to 25,000 cigarette butts in their lifetime, with up to a third of these ending up as litter.
· Cigarette butts may seem small, but with an estimated 4.5 trillion littered worldwide every year, the litter and toxic chemicals add up.
· Because cigarette butts are small and light, they are easily blown from place to place or washed into drain water, which carries a large number of butts into waterways.
Download 'No Butts' poster here.