Watchdog Targets Cigarette Filter Litter, Asks Black Nazarene Devotees to Kick Tobacco Addiction
Quezon City. A waste and
pollution watchdog group today sought the cooperation of Black Nazarene
devotees in keeping tomorrow’s feast day free of litter, particularly cigarette
filter.
With millions of devotees
expected to join the almost 7-kilometer procession, the EcoWaste Coalition expressed
serious concern about the peril of discarded cigarette butts to public health
and the environment as the group stepped up its call for a garbage-free fiesta.
“If the smokers among the
devotees will not be persuaded not to smoke, the event will surely generate
millions of cigarette butts that are often carelessly tossed on the ground or
flicked into plant boxes or pots,” said Tin Vergara, Zero Waste Campaigner,
EcoWaste Coalition.
Last Monday at an environmental
event in front of Quiapo Church, the EcoWaste Coalition introduced four garbage
monsters, including “Buttman” (the cigarette butt thrower) to draw attention to
the problem with unrestrained littering.
"Cigarette butt is
undeniably the most obvious litter in our surroundings that we often take for
granted because it is small and light and appears to be insignificant,” she
stated.
“On the contrary, it is not a
litter of little consequence,” she warned.
“Butt litter is ugly and, worst,
it is toxic even to non-smoking creatures in the ocean,” she said.
Vergara said that most cigarette
filters are made of cellulose acetate plastic fibers that are very slow to degrade,
persisting in the environment for a long time and posing hazards to both humans
and animals.
She pointed out that because of
their small size and light weight, discarded butts are easily carried by wind
and rain into the canals, rivers and seas.
Birds and fishes confused butts
for food, causing not only digestive obstruction but also the ingestion of harmful
chemicals in the filter such as arsenic, cadmium and lead, she pointed out.
EcoWaste Coalition’s advocacy
partner Dr. Maricar Limpin, Executive Director of Framework Convention on
Tobacco Control Alliance, Philippines (FCAP), emphasized that the best way to
curb the problem with butt litter is for people who smoke to quit the unhealthy
habit.
“To get rid of the health and
environmental hazards posed by butt litter, we appeal to tobacco consumers to
switch to a healthy lifestyle and completely kick the addition by not using
cigarettes, cigars and even e-cigarettes,” she said.
“Not smoking avoids exposing
others to the dreaded effects of second-hand smoke on top of the hazards caused
by cigarette butt litter,” she emphasized.
The EcoWaste Coalition cited the
statistics from the latest Ocean Conservancy’s marine debris report showing
that some 2,117,931 pounds of cigarettes or cigarette filters out of the total
10,149,988 pounds of debris items were collected in 97 countries during the
international coastal cleanup activities in 2012.
According to the report, some
276,499 pounds of food wrappers were collected in the Philippines, followed by
162,532 pounds of cigarette filters and 148,878 pounds of plastic bags.
Globally, the top 10 debris
items in 2012 were 1) cigarettes/cigarette filters, 2) food wrappers/containers,
3) beverage bottles, 4) plastic bags, 5) caps and lids, 6) cups, plates, forks,
spoons and knives, 7) straws and stirrers, 8) glass beverage bottles, 9)
beverage cans, and 10) paper bags, the report said.
Reference:
http://www.oceanconservancy.org/our-work/international-coastal-cleanup/2012-ocean-trash-index.html (download “CSV” files for country data and “full report” for general dataand narrative)
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