I can see opening up the window to flick ashes. Opening the window to let out the smoke doesn't make any sense to me. Those who don't use their ash trays- what do you do with the butts?
No answer to my question ? Humm. Hope you are not guilty of the following--
3) "Cigarette butts are the number one source of litter in the U.S. representing over 34% of all debris collected in community cleanups. Food wrappers, caps and lids, and beverage bottles are the next most littered items. Cigarettes are not biodegradable, in fact, the white fibers in the filters are not cotton, but are composed of cellulose acetate which is a plastic designed to capture toxins. “Its very purpose is to trap chemicals, so in those butts there are chemicals that can leach out into the soil and groundwater,” said Jane Ferry of Keep Orlando Beautiful. Environmental conditions vary, but cigarette filters may take anywhere from 18 months to 10 years to degrade."
Source and further information:
http://www.cityoforlando.net/Executive/Communications/news/06_08_18_kob.htm4) "Cigarette filters are made from cellulose acetate and is biodegradable, however depending on environmental conditions it can be resistant to degradation. Accordingly, the duration of the degradation process is cited as taking as little as 1 month to 3 years to as long as 10-15 years.
This variance in rate and resistance to biodegradation in many conditions is a factor in littering and environmental damage. It is estimated that 4.5 trillion cigarette butts become litter every year. In the 2006 International Coastal Cleanup, cigarettes and cigarette butts constituted 24.7% of the total collected garbage, over twice as much as any other category.
Cigarette butts contain the chemicals filtered from cigarettes and can leach into waterways and water supplies.
Cellulose acetate and carbon particles breathed in from cigarette filters is suspected of causing lung damage."
Source and further information:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cigarette#Cigarette_litter Comments
- they are litter and should not be dumped
thank for the precise information above
by on November 21st, 2008 - sharpjwe: you are very welcome!
by on November 21st, 2008 - thanks...I suspected that they were...since they seem to be everywhere. People think nothing of just tossing their filters anywhere:(
by on November 21st, 2008 - DA BEN DAN: you are welcome.
:-)
by on November 21st, 2008
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Is it true that our number once source of litter is now cigarette butts? How long do they take to decompose? | Answerbag http://www.answerbag.com/q_view/395742#ixzz1aEnu8lQR