Cigarette Butt Decomposition and Associated Chemical Changes Assessed by 13C CPMAS NMR

Bonanomi, Giuliano; Incerti, Guido; Cesarano, Gaspare; Gaglione, Salvatore A.; Lanzotti, Virginia

doi:10.1371/journal.pone.0117393

Cited by 70 publications

(41 citation statements)

References 37 publications

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“…This context-dependency lies in the fact that cellulose filters 221 decomposed much more slowly on the soil surface, while plastic filter decomposition was 222 hardly affected by the disposal environment. This limited context-dependence for plastic 223 filters was previously documented by (Bonanomi et al, 2015) who reported no difference in 224 plastic filter decomposition among different incubation sites varying from sand to grassland. 225…”

Section: Importance Of Disposal Environments 204mentioning

confidence: 54%

“…Particularly, given the predominant control of environmental 68 conditions on biotic litter decomposition (Berg and McClaugherty, 2008), the decomposition 69 of the cellulose filters is likely to vary widely depending on their disposal environment. In 70 contrast, environmental conditions were shown to have no effect on decomposition of plastic 71 cigarette filters (Bonanomi et al, 2015). Consequently, in composts, where environmental 72 conditions are prone to microbial activity, the relative advantage of cellulose filters over the 73 plastic ones may be reinforced.…”

Section: Abstract 22mentioning

confidence: 98%

“…In the only peer-reviewed publication that assessed the decomposition of conventional 59 cigarettes filters, Bonanomi et al (2015) reported that while the paper wrapped around the 60 filter was readily decomposed, the plastic part was mostly unaffected after two years of 61 decomposition. In turn, the OCB® brand for instance, that sells filters for hand-rolling 62 cigarettes, advertises an almost complete decomposition of cellulose filters in 28 days.…”

Section: Abstract 22mentioning

confidence: 99%

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Comparison of cellulose vs. plastic cigarette filter decomposition under distinct disposal environments

Joly

Coulis

2018

Waste Management

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It is estimated that 4.5 trillion cigarette butts are discarded annually, making them numerically the most common type of litter on Earth. To accelerate their disappearance after disposal, a new type of cigarette filters made of cellulose, a readily biodegradable compound, has been introduced in the market. Yet, the advantage of these cellulose filters over the conventional plastic ones (cellulose acetate) for decomposition, remains unknown. Here, we compared the decomposition of cellulose and plastic cigarettes filters, either intact or smoked, on the soil surface or within a composting bin over a six-month field decomposition experiment. Within the compost, cellulose filters decomposed faster than plastic filters, but this advantage was strongly reduced when filters had been used for smoking. This indicates that the accumulation of tars and other chemicals during filter use can strongly affect its subsequent decomposition. Strikingly, on the soil surface, we observed no difference in mass loss between cellulose and plastic filters throughout the incubation. Using a first order kinetic model for mass loss of for used filters over the short period of our experiment, we estimated that conventional plastic filters take 7.5-14 years to disappear, in the compost and on the soil surface, respectively. In contrast, we estimated that cellulose filters take 2.3-13 years to disappear, in the compost and on the soil surface, respectively. Our data clearly showed that disposal environments and the use of cellulose filters must be considered when assessing their advantage over plastic filters. In light of our results, we advocate that the shift to cellulose filters should not exempt users from disposing their waste in appropriate collection systems.

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Section: Importance Of Disposal Environments 204mentioning

confidence: 54%

Section: Abstract 22mentioning

confidence: 98%

Section: Abstract 22mentioning

confidence: 99%

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Comparison of cellulose vs. plastic cigarette filter decomposition under distinct disposal environments

Joly

Coulis

2018

Waste Management

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“…After concentration by ultrafiltration at 10 kDa, again, correlation in the ACF is still lacking, suggesting that all the carbon materials released from un-CPG are molecular and dissolved or are under the size limit for DLS characterization (evaluated at 1 nm). Because cigarette filters are mostly composed of cellulose-based materials, the release of these materials (degraded or not) is expected (Bonanomi et al, 2015). In contrast, for f-CGB, the increase in the TOC to 4.12±0.24 % (w/CGB) is directly correlated with the distinct exponential decay of the ACF.…”

Section: Resultsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Nano-litter from cigarette butts: Environmental implications and urgent consideration

et al. 2018

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Cigarette butts (CGB) are equivalent to plastic litter in terms of number of pieces released directly into the environment. Due to their small size and social use, CGB are commonly found in natural systems, and several questions have been raised concerning the contaminants that are released with CGB, including metals, organic species, and nanoparticles. The aim of the present study is to investigate the release of nanoscale particles from CGB by leaching with rainwater. After seven days of passive stirring of both smoked and unsmoked CGB in synthetic rainwater, the solutions were treated and analyzed by specific nano-analytical methods. Our results demonstrate the release of 4.12 ± 0.24% (w/CGB) organic carbon in the range of 10 nm up to 400 nm and with a z-average diameter of 202.4 ± 74.1 nm. The fractal dimension (D) of the nanoscale particles ranges from 1.14 to 1.52 and suggests a soot (carbon)-based composition. The analysis of some metallic species (As, Pb, Cd, Cu, Ni, Cr, Co, Al, Mn, Zn, and Fe) shows that these species are essentially attached to the nanoscale particles per gram of carbon released. By considering the diffusion of the nanomaterials into different environmental compartments, our results suggest a new emerging and global contamination of the environment by cigarette butts, comparable to plastic litter, which urgently needs to be considered.

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“…This plastic component of filtered cigarettes may not degrade in the environment for many years. Even after deterioration, TPW may persist as small particles of toxic-infused plastic waste, which can leach into soil and water supplies [13]. Slaughter et al showed that 1 cigarette butt soaked in a liter of water for 96 hours reached the Lethal Concentration 50 (LD 50) for test fish exposed to the leachates [14].…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Global Health Perspectives on Cigarette Butts and the Environment

Granados¹,

Fulton²,

Patlán³

et al. 2019

Preprint

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Cigarette butts, also known as tobacco product waste (TPW), are the single most collected item in environmental trash cleanups worldwide. This study used an online survey tool (Qualtrics) to assess knowledge, attitudes, and perceptions about this issue among individuals representing the Framework Convention Alliance (FCA). The FCA has about 683 members on its listserv, including non-governmental tobacco control advocacy groups that support implementation of the World Health Organization’s (WHO) Framework Convention on Tobacco Control (FCTC). Respondents (n = 65) represented countries from all six WHO regions. The majority (82%) had heard the term TPW, and all considered TPW as an environmental harm at some level. Additionally, 29% of respondents failed to identify that “cigarette filters make smoking easier.” Most (73%) correctly identified TPW components; however, fewer (60%) correctly identified the composition of cigarette butts. The majority (57%) were unfamiliar with Extended Producer Responsibility (EPR) and Product Stewardship (PS) as possible environmental intervention strategies. Respondents expressing opinions concurred that adding a litter fee to fund TPW programs will aid in reducing tobacco use and reduce the environmental impacts of TPW (100%); that prevention, reduction, and mitigation of TPW could be an important part of international tobacco control programs (98%); and that banning smoking in outdoor venues could reduce TPW (95%). Only 16% reported effective prevention or clean-up efforts in their countries. Weighted rankings revealed that respondents’ saw the national government, the tobacco industry, and state governments as most important in addressing TPW. The results of this research will inform continuing international discussions by the FCTC Conference of the Parties (COP) regarding environmental policies that may be addressed within FCTC obligations.

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Cigarette Butt Decomposition and Associated Chemical Changes Assessed by 13C CPMAS NMR

Cited by 70 publications

References 37 publications

Comparison of cellulose vs. plastic cigarette filter decomposition under distinct disposal environments

Comparison of cellulose vs. plastic cigarette filter decomposition under distinct disposal environments

Nano-litter from cigarette butts: Environmental implications and urgent consideration

Global Health Perspectives on Cigarette Butts and the Environment

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