By Charlie Estes

It is estimated that 75% of all smokers toss their cigarette butts out into the environment. Being a motorcycle rider, I see hundreds of them on the ground near stop lights. I always assumed that cigarette butts were manufactured with cotton but after doing research I found that they are made of cellulose acetate which are tightly packed plastic fibers. An estimated 1.7 billion pounds of these fibers wind up in our environment each year. These littered cigarette butts are washed down our drains and the toxins get into our streams and rivers. Believe it or not, a few of these toxins are arsenic, lead, polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons and other heavy metals.

Unfortunately, these chemicals poison fish and wildlife. They are hands-down the most littered item on Earth. I spoke with a gentleman who works for the Broomfield Colorado Wastewater Reclamation facility. He stated that although the flushed butts are filtered out, the residues are not, which require additional treatment. The majority are tossed outdoors and get into our waterways, causing severe damage to our aquatic and groundwater ecosystems. Although the research studies seem to differ they appear to lean toward non-filtered cigarettes being healthier. As a proud resident of Colorado and a member of the Keep Woodland Park Beautiful Committee I ask you: please don’t toss your butts into the environment.