Ever wonder why normally law abiding, decent folk think its okay to litter their nasty butts? I think its because most smokers just don’t consider butts to be litter, or maybe they don’t know that cigarette butts don’t go away. No one seems to know just how long it takes a butt to biodegrade, but the short view is at least TEN YEARS, probably more like fifteen. Susan Selig Classen gets right to the hot end of this issue over on the new OBX Beach Access site.
“Some will debate on whether a wee little cigarette butt is really litter. While tiny cigarette butts may not be as visible as food wrappers or empty beer bottles, many still consider it to be littering to leave them on the beach.
We hear cries of, “Butts are biodegradable!” or “The leftover beach chairs and umbrellas are worse than my tiny little cigarette butts!”)
It’s time to separate the myth from facts regarding cigarette butt litter. The biggest myth is that cigarette filters are biodegradable. In fact, cigarette butts are not biodegradable in the sense that most people think of the word. Those white fibers are cellulose acetate, a form of plastic -not cotton or paper. Those plastics take many years to decompose.”
[box type=”bio”] Get the rest of the scoop on butt over on OBX Beach Access.[/box]
[box type=”info”] Here’s an idea! Bring your own POCKET ASHTRAY to the beach. Problem solved![/box]