Audrey Cooper and Paul Dunne from Raw Marketing who took part in the Carlow County Council’s Anti-Cigarette Litter Campaign Photo: michaelorourkephotography.ie
By Suzanne Pender
RECENT heavy rainfall has increased the number of cigarette butts discarded on Carlow’s streets and footpaths flowing into storm drains and discharging directly into the river – then ultimately ending up in the sea.
In response, Carlow Co Council is undertaking an anti-cigarette litter campaign.
“Cigarette butts have been a consistent issue in Carlow town for several years, accounting for over two-thirds of all litter, which is well above the national average,” said Shane Casey, environmental awareness officer.
Cigarette butts have been a persistent nuisance for communities and council staff ‒ road sweepers regularly miss cigarette butts caught in pavement cracks, while litter pickers are often too cumbersome to grab hold of them.
“The campaign message is very simple,” continued Shane. “Cigarette butts are plastic, they’re litter and they belong in a bin and not on the street.”
Cigarette butts are made of a single-use plastic called cellulose acetate and, depending on conditions, it can take up to ten years for this plastic to degrade into microplastics, but that’s as far as they go. They’re not biodegradable and will always remain in the environment, adding to the global issue of marine plastic pollution.
Globally, cigarette butts are the single biggest component of litter, with an estimated 18 billion butts discarded every day.
