As a person who picks up trash, I can tell you first hand the #1 most littered item is cigarette butts, which are not biodegradable. Once they are littered, they wash into storm drains and end up in our oceans, lakes and groundwater, effecting everything we eat and drink.
I Just Gotta Eco Ya
- The 360 billion cigarettes smoked in the United States in 2007 translates to a total of 135,000,000 pounds of discarded butts in one year in the United States alone. The filters from 5.6 trillion cigarettes (approximate world production) would weigh more than 2.1 billion pounds (see table below). This figure does not include the weight of the tobacco still attached to the filter, or the packaging, matches, disposable lighters, and other “collateral” waste that is generated by smoking. (Source)
- Cigarette butts are the most common debris item collected during the Ocean Conservancy’s International Coastal Cleanup, numbering 1,971,551 (cigarette filters, cigar tips, and tobacco packaging accounted for 38% of worldwide debris.
- Biologists have found butts in the stomachs of young birds, sea turtles and other marine creatures.
Greenbutts decided to so something about it. Touting themselves as an all-natural, 100% biodegradable filter, that when placed in soil sprouts into flowers. Greenbutts are manufactured from 100% all-natural and compostable materials. Organic cotton and natural de-gummed hemp form the filter body. Wheat flour and pure water bind the filter elements as they are spun together. No chemicals or hidden additives.
The only problem is where to get them? I no place to buy on the site, no place on Facebook..
Resources
http://www.surfridersd.org/hotyb.php