Exmouth Ballot Butt Bins

Did you know?

Cigarette butts are the most littered item in the UK (and across the globe) despite only 12% of our population being smokers, and since cigarette butts are made of plastic, they will not biodegrade. They will disintegrate over 2-15 years, but they will only ever break down into micro-plastics, so they never go away!

“The average UK smoker smokes 10.6 cigarettes per day – even if just one is littered, that amounts to over 6 million cigarette butts every day across the UK. Likely it’s far more, because it is estimated that four out of five cigarettes smoked outdoors are improperly disposed of, which makes cigarette butts the UK’s most prevalent, and often overlooked, form of litter” (Source: Keep Britain Tidy)

What happens when they are littered?

When smokers discard them on our roads, pavements or in parks or down drains, the environmental impact is devastating. Cigarette butts release toxic chemicals – arsenic, lead, formaldehyde and nicotine – into our soil and waterways, harming our plants, animals and aquatic life.

Is this a problem in Exmouth?

Yes, in Exmouth, we find LOTS of cigarette butts around the town and on and near our beach during our weekly beach cleans. You’ve probably noticed them too?

What can we do about it?

We can encourage anyone we know who smokes not to litter cigarette butts anywhere, but instead to either stub them out and put them in a general waste bin, or take them home. Alternatively, they can post them in an Exmouth butt bin!