TIL Cigarette butts are the most common form of plastic pollution

That's crazy! I didn't even realized they had plastic in them. Makes you wonder how many inconspicuous everyday items have the potential to become plastic waste.

Some exec at RJ Reynolds in the 40's

"The damn government is making us take asbestos out of the filters. What can we put instead?"

"I know, how bout some space aged plastic!"

Aren’t microplastics from car tires more common?

I live in the US and it's becoming more and more unusual in many places to see people smoking. As a result, I see fewer discarded cigarette butts than ever. Still not zero, but getting there.

Dislike smoking but realize that for addicts often public infrastructure doesn't give you a lot of options for getting rid of butts. Seems like biodegradable butts should be mandatory. On the other hand I will lean into my horn if I see someone throwing butts out of their car. That is inexcusable - get an ashtray for your vehicle.

I thought tires were responsible for like 25% of micro plastics.

Never mind. I just read what I wrote, and realized they're two different things.

Just ban the filter. Let them smoke raw and unfiltered.

That we know of, I bet microplastics is actually worse but we can’t measure it in aggregate well.

And as the article already says what’s even worse is the cocktail of chemicals in those filters which are even more harmful than simple PET and the like.

I wasn’t aware cigarettes contained any plastic at all

Not a smoker, but I believe smokers are treated poorly, as are businesses that cater to smokers.

But my beliefs are really put to the test everytime I see a smoker throw their butt on the ground.