Because everyday cigarette butts are dropped on our streets, go down our drains, into local waters, and leach into our soil.  They endanger fish, birds, plants, and ultimately, humans. Butts are the second largest category of litter and number 4.5 trillion worldwide annually. Filters are not biodegradable. They are made of cellulose acetate, a plastic that breaks down into microplastics, are eaten by fish, become part of their flesh, and are then consumed by humans. The filters contain lead, cadmium, and arsenic which kill fish and other wildlife. For humans, such toxins have been found to damage young brains and cause cancer, skin lesions, and cardiovascular disease.

And did you know that the problem is urgent because the filters in cigarettes do not protect smokers, but smokers think they do?  According to experts at the NRDC (Natural Resource Defense Council) “Although filters may give the impression of a healthier product, they do not, in fact, make cigarettes safer. Filters do not improve impacts on smokers, nor do they lessen the destructive impact of tobacco use. They are simply a marketing device.  If anything, filters create a more dangerous product. Because the sensation of filtered smoking feels less harsh, smokers tend to smoke more of the product and inhale more deeply. Those deeper inhalations draw the carcinogens in the smoke further into the lung tissue.”* “A 2017 study in the Journal of the National Cancer Institute reviewing recent medical literature on the topic concluded that “filter ventilation has contributed to the rise in lung adenocarcinomas among smokers,” one of the most dangerous forms of lung cancer…” **

Foes Of The Single-Use Filter — Meet The New Yorkers Who Want To Eliminate The Cigarette Butt

*Kicking Butts: NY Bill Proposes Banning Filtered Cigarettes | **Cigarette Butt Litter Solutions

TOTAL butts COLLECTED

5,512

As of 4/21/2022

1/13, 12:40-1:30PM: Columbus Avenue 93rd-97th Street (West side)

1/24, 10-10:30AM: 122nd Street between Riverside Drive-Claremont Ave.

1/26, 10Am-5PM: 122nd Street between Riverside Drive-Claremont Ave.

4/21, 6Pm-8PM: Grand Street Loop

(Orchard north to Rivington; east toward Ludlow; south on Ludlow to Delancey; west on Delancey to Orchard; south on Orchard to Grand.)

Phase 2 of our NO BUTTS tour

11/21, 12-2PM: RIVERSIDE DRIVE & 135TH STREET

11/21, 2:30-4:30PM: SIXTH AVENUE & 42ND STREET

12/5, 12-2PM: CENTRAL PARK WEST & 96TH STREET

12/5, 2:30-4:30PM: NE CORNER OF BWAY & 17TH STREET

12/19, 12:00-4:00PM: 99TH STREET & MADISON AVE

Phase 1 of our NO BUTTS tour consisted of three collection and counting events, each lasting 2 hours with 3-5 collectors.