Hold on to your butt
The Hold On To Your Butt campaign aims to raise awareness about the environmental impact of cigarette butt litter in the oceans and on beaches, as well as lower the amount of cigarette butt pollution occurring in the Halifax Regional Municipality.
Cigarette butts are one of the most littered item on the planet.
4,950,000,000
is the number of Cigarette butts littered annually. (Let that sink in.)
YOU CAN HELP CHANGE THAT!
ENVIRONMENTAL IMPACT OF CIGARETTE BUTTS
• 4.95 trillion cigarette butts are disposed of in our environment annually, thrown onto the ground and beaches.
• Cigarette butts are not biodegradable. Cigarette filters are made of cellulose acetate, a non-biodegradable plastic, which can take up to 25 years to decompose.
• Once in the environment, the cigarette butt will break down into micro and nanoparticles of plastic releasing 7,000 toxic chemical substances, including arsenic, lead, and cadmium.
• Nicotine and other toxins from cigarette butts can seep into water within 24 hours, potentially contaminating up to 1,000 litres of water.
• Cigarette butt waste can inhibit the growth of marine plants and release enough toxins to cause a 50% mortality rate in fish within 96 hours.
• Cigarette butts have been ingested by sea turtles, birds, dolphins, and other marine life. They contain up to 60 known carcinogens and leach chemicals such as cadmium, lead, and arsenic.
• Cigarette butts pose a significant fire threat, which is an increasingly important issue in Nova Scotia as the risk of wildfires has been increasing.
• Through its network of chapters, Surfrider Foundation Canada has removed (and, in many cases, recycled) over 5 million cigarette butts, primarily through beach cleanups.
Cigarette butt pollution continues to be one of the most prevalent pollutants that goes unaddressed by local, provincial, and federal governments in Canada.
Surfrider Atlantic Chapter’s Hold On To Your Butt campaign is aimed at eliminating cigarette butt litter and pollution because of the impact on beaches and the ocean. Cigarette butts are the most littered item in the world and most butts are made of cellulose acetate (a type of plastic) and also contain a wide array of toxins that are released into the environment (and potentially, waterways) when cigarette butts are littered.
The Halifax Regional Municipality has bylaws that prohibit smoking in parks and beaches, and littering fines that apply to cigarette butts. Despite these interventions, Surfrider Atlantic is continually collecting butts from beaches. Without enforcement of these bylaws, a robust communications plan, and increased cigarette collection units around the city, this problem will continue to persist.
This is why our Hold On To Your Butt campaign aims to raise awareness about the environmental impact of cigarette litter, as well as lower the amount of cigarette butt pollution occurring in the Halifax Regional Municipality.
Goals for the Hold On To Your Butt campaign
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• Reduce cigarette litter in the HRM and divert cigarette butts from the environment to recycling facilities.
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• Increase public awareness about the problem and the fact that cigarette butts pose a serious environmental hazard.
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• Advocate for a robust public education and communications plan to raise awareness of no-smoking policies, cigarette butt littering fines, the environmental impacts of cigarette butts, and the fact that cigarette butts can be recycled.
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• Educate consumers about the impacts of all smoking related litter on the environment.
“Ciggy Stardust”
For Ocean Week Canada on June 10th, 2023, Surfrider Vancouver unveiled “Ciggy Stardust”, a visual representation of ocean cigarette waste in the form of a sculptured youth Southern Resident orca whale covered in over 6,200 sorted and meticulously trimmed cigarette butts found on our local beaches.
This culturally and ecologically significant orca population is currently at risk of extinction with only 73 individuals left in the three Southern Resident pods. The exhibit establishes a link between urban cigarette pollution and our deep connection to the Salish Sea, and the vital importance of protecting our oceans and the marine life within it.
Using this visual representation of cigarette waste, Surfrider Vancouver and Surfrider Atlantic will continue to advocate for the policies and societal shifts in behaviour which addresses cigarette pollution and the protection of our ocean, beaches, and waves for future generations.
Thanks to all the partners who made “Ciggy Stardust” possible, along with all the volunteers of Surfrider who collected cigarette butts between 2018-2023 and the Surfrider Vancouver E.C. of 2023!
Help spread the word!
Did you know that smoking cigarettes in our parks and on beaches (including in park and beach parking lots) is prohibited?
And that there is a fine for littering cigarette butts?
Smoking in parks and on beaches can subject you to a fine of $25 to $2,000 in Nova Scotia.
Littering cigarette butts is subject to a fine of $352.50 in the HRM.
IF YOU SMOKE, PLEASE USE POCKET ASHTRAYS!
They serve as an on-the-go cigarette butt container.
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HOW CAN YOU HELP?
To volunteer, donate, or partner on the Hold On To Your Butt Campaign, please contact:
Surfrider Atlantic Canada
info@atlantic.surfrider.ca