Our Waterways Are Not Ashtrays.

By Duncan Eddy. Nelson Mail. ?/12/ 2004

Thousands of non smoking New Zealanders will be better off now that cigarette smokers are forced to go outside to light up. But the health of our waters and the creatures who live there could be harmed by an increase in the amount of toxic cigarette butts making their way into New Zealand's waterways.

I'm promoting a grassroots programme that offer smokers a more environmentally responsible way for smokers to dispose of their butts.

It's will no longer be legal for cigarette smoking New Zealanders to light up while partaking in a quiet drink or two round the local. Nor for that matter will they be able to smoke in any workplace, including cafes, casinos, restaurants, factories and schools.

Under the Smokefree Environments Amendment Act 2003, those who partake in this increasingly unpopular habit will have to satisfy their nicotine craving hides outdoors. The law aims to protect non smoking patrons and staff of licensed premises from getting the smoky clothes and risk of contracting various undesirable health effects, most noticeably, lung cancer and heart disease, that come with passive smoking.

The bill's passage did not come without heated debate. However, there has been little or no discussion about the negative environmental implications of forcing smokers outside. The environmental problem I ' m most concerned about has to do with the filters that screen out some of the poisons in cigarette smoke.

Casually discarded cigarette butts are the most common form of litter in the west. You‘ll see them in parks, beaches, on the street. Most of these toxic filters eventually make their way in waterways via storm waters systems, wind, rivers and tides.

An Auckland Regional Council Pollution Prevention Officer recently claimed that over 25 million cigarette butts make their way into Auckland's harbours every year. It can take up to 12 years for cigarette filters butts break in the sea. As they slowly disintegrate, they release a toxic cocktail of 4,000 chemicals, including ingredients used in products such as paint stripper, moth balls, and car batteries.

Fish and birds can choke after mistaking a waterlogged butt for a meal.

Yesterday's introduction of the Smokefree Environments Amendment Act means that unless workable plans are put in place, cigarette litter is going to get worse. Fortunately, there are solutions.

In Byron Bay in Australia, local businesses and environmental groups are working together to reduce butt litter. Many local shops offer free portable ashtrays to smokers passing through the popular holiday area. In keeping with the environmental theme, these ashtrays were reused film canisters.

This grassroots effort is having a positive impact on the area's natural habitat.

To coincide with the implentation of the new smokefree laws, I'm bringing this simple yet effective concept back to Aotearoa, with an initial focus on the Nelson area.

In Australia, anyone carelessly tossing cigarette butts can be fined. Yet, around 1 in every three cigarette filters in Australia ends up as litter.

About 25% percent of adult New Zealanders smoke an average of 12 cigarettes a day. Spot fines won't prevent them all littering. Perhaps awareness of the environmental issues, coupled with easy ways to dispose of their butts responsibly, will.

I hope local businesses and smokers will get behind our own “Bin Yr Butt” initiative, which is a small but important step.

Hopefully local council's will also support this program, and further initiatives to reduce this insidious form of litter.

If we don't deal with this issue now, local waterways, fish and birds will suffer, and future generations and future councils will have a serious problem on their hands.

Supporting simple community based responses that actually do make a difference, such as the ‘Bin Yr Butt', makes economic and ecological sense.

 

Duncan Eddy is an environmental and community campaigner currently living in Mapua.