Cigarette butt waste causes ‘externalities’… that is, when discarded into the environment by a smoker, someone else has to clean up the waste or suffer some economic loss as a result of the waste production.  For example, butts discarded on beaches reduce their attractiveness and may cause harm to marine life.  Cleaning them up costs the beach community some expense.  Few economic studies have been done to enumerate these costs, but some of the externalities have been described in more detail in this journal article: Thomas E Novotny and Feng Zhao. Consumption and production waste: another externality of tobacco use. Tob. Control 1999;8;75-80).

There are a number of approaches to preventing, mitigating, and reducing butt waste in the environment, including (in no particular order):

  • Labeling.  For example: “Cigarette filters are non-biodegradable toxic waste. Disposal of filters should be in accordance with state law”

  • Deposit/return:  For example: “Bottle bills” were designed as a way to reduce the hazards, clean-up costs, and waste of discarded glass containers.

  • Waste fees/taxes: These are intended to pay for the costs of recycling the item and disposing properly of any non-recyclable material.  Examples now include electronics.

  • Litigation.  Litigation has been pursued against manufacturers of products that damage the environment, and this might be a source for class action suits to recover the costs of cleanup and for the negligence and nuisance caused by butt waste.

  • Fines.  Levied against consumers or producers who knowingly or unknowingly discard butts into the environment.

  • Mandatory filter bio-degradability.  Although the tobacco industry has tried for more than 15 years to produce a marketable bio-degradable filter, none have been successful so far.  Twenty-two states already legislate to allow only fire-safe cigarettes to be sold in those states, and it may be possible for states to only allow degradable filters to be sold as well.

  • Consumer education.  Smokers incorporate butt disposal into their smoking ritual, ignoring the environmental consequences.  Public information and stronger enforcement of non-smoking environments and anti-litter laws may de-normalize this irresponsible behavior.

For a more complete discussion of policies to reduce cigarette butt waste, see Novotny TE, Lum K, Smith E, Wang V, Barnes R. Filtered Cigarettes and the Case for an Environmental Policy on Cigarette Waste.  International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health. ISSN 1660-4601.