Plastic Soup Foundation
  • The issue
      • Plastic Soup
      • What is plastic?
      • Plastic in the environment
      • Harm to animals
      • Health effects
      • Regulations
      • Bogus solutions
      • Responsibilities
      • Sustainable development
      • Facts & Figures
  • What we do
      • Health
      • Microplastics
      • Education
      • Plastic Waste
  • What you can do
      • As a consumer
      • As an organization
      • As a school
  • Solutions
  • News
  • Donate
  • EN
  • NL
  • Search
  • Menu Menu
You are here: News Plastic Cigarette Filters Should Be Prohibited

Plastic Cigarette Filters Should Be Prohibited

10 December 2020

Next year in July, the time will come, a number of plastic items will be banned. These are products that are often found in the environment and for which alternatives are available.

However, the cigarette butt, the item most commonly found polluting the environment and for which there is an alternative available, is not included.

As much as 60% of all waste items recorded in the Litterati-app are cigarette butts. The only thing that would help is a ban.

POLICY OF THE NATIONAL GOVERNMENT

As of 3 July 2021, it is forbidden to sell certain plastic products according to the European Directive for disposable plastics (Single Use Plastic Directive). At the end of last month, State Secretary Veldhoven (D66) sent a letter to the House of Representatives announcing a pure implementation of the directive, i.e., doing precisely what Brussels requires. She also announced additional measures. Van Veldhoven will inform the House of Representatives about this in January.

NEW RULES FOR CIGARETTE FILTERS

Two articles under the SUP-directive cover the topic of cigarette filters with plastic. The first article concerns the obligation to indicate on the packaging that the filters contain plastic. The second makes tobacco manufacturers responsible for the cleanup costs of stray butts. For the calculation of these costs, the European Commission comes with a piece of guiding advice. The effective date is 5 January 2023 at the latest.

CALL FOR A BAN ON PLASTIC CIGARETTE FILTER

The Plastic Peuken Collective recently asked the government (via a letter to the members of the Circular Economy Committee in the Lower House) to ban cigarette filters containing harmful plastics and chemical substances.

A ban is obvious, not only because of the large quantities of cigarette butts that end up in the environment but also because plastic-free alternatives exist. Greenbutts is such an alternative. This company shows that filters can also be made that break down quickly and naturally.

UNWILLINGNESS OF TOBACCO MANUFACTURERS

The Plastic Cluck Collective has been in contact with the inventor of the Greenbutt. He claims to have spoken to all the major tobacco manufacturers, but none are interested in his biodegradable filter. It’s easy to guess why tobacco manufacturers don’t voluntarily switch to plastic-free filters. These are not only more expensive to make, but also because they make their own filters and add chemicals such as menthol and propylene glycol. When these (addictive) substances are omitted, typical brand properties disappear.

MATTER OF CALCULATING

Tobacco manufacturers will simply include the cleaning costs they will have to pay in the cigarettes’ price. With the money, they can finance educational campaigns and place extra ashtrays in the public space. But will this reduce the number of stray cigarette butts in the environment?

There are so many cigarette butts that a 10% reduction, for example, is no solution. It is estimated that two billion butts are left on the street or in the environment every year in the Netherlands alone. From 31 August to 15 November 2020, volunteers collected and registered 191,866 cigarette butts as part of a special campaign. The figures in the Report plastic cigarette butts (by GoClean De Liemers and Litterati) show that real measures are indispensable.

REAL AMBITION NEEDED

Karl Beerenfenger of By the Ocean we Unite and initiator of the Plastic Peuken Collective: ‘Secretary of State Veldhoven writes in the letter to the Dutch Parliament that it is her ambition to reduce the plastic soup in the coming years. If she is really ambitious, she announces in January, as an extra measure, a ban in combination with the legal target to reduce the number of cigarette butts by 70% by the end of 2023. These are the only effective ways to tackle this huge source of plastic pollution’.

Photo: Reinier van Oorsouw / Butts on the Dam. Plastic buttock #nofilterplease

You might also like:

  • At No. 4: Marlboro Cigarette Packs
  • The dirty truth about cigarette filters

Search

Categories

  • actions frontpage (1)
  • Political plume (3)
  • Pressreleases (2)
  • nurdles (5)
  • Junior (1)
  • Microplastics in cosmetics (1)
  • News (525)
  • What can you do? (13)
  • No category (1)
  • Health Files (38)
  • Clean rivers (24)
  • Plastic soupermarket (2)
  • Trash hunters (49)
  • What is plastic soup? (12)
  • What to do with plastic waste? (12)
  • Types of plastic (3)
  • Press releases (16)
  • Beat the microbead (16)
  • Solutions (11)
  • Don't use balloons (3)
  • Gezondheidseffecten (56)
  • Animal cruelty (13)
  • Job openings (1)
  • Microbeads (27)
  • sponsoring campaign (1)
  • Ocean Clean Wash (12)
  • Sponsor actions (3)
  • Plastic Urban Mining (4)
  • About us (1)
  • My little plastic footprint (5)
  • Blogs (16)
  • Synthetic fibers (19)
  • Plastic Soup Awards (3)

Subscribe to our newsletter

and stay informed about our activities!
  • This field is for validation purposes and should be left unchanged.

Donate now and contribute

I'll donate € 5I'll donate € 10I'll donate € 15Other amount

More news

Danone hauled up before the French court for excessive use of plastic

The multinational Danone has been charged in France for not having a plastic policy to prevent damage to the environment and health.

Read more

Research intern: Biodegradability of viscose

We are looking for a Campaigner for our (Plastic) Fashion campaign. You will strengthen the campaign team that works on the problems related to microplastics and what plastic is doing to our health.

Read more

Really? European Consumers’ Associations think the plastic bag is the best option? We don’t think so and here’s why!

In November 2022 the Dutch Consumers’ Association Consumentenbond published the results of a report which made us raise our eyebrows.

Read more

Tips for a plastic-free Christmas

During the Christmas season, there is a 30% increase in plastic use. Take a look at how you can reduce your plastic footprint.

Read more

About us

  • Frontrunners
  • Mission & Vision
  • Our People
  • Working with Us
  • Annual Reports
  • Inquiries Press
  • Newsletter

Our approach

  • Plastic Soup Angels
  • Funds & Partners
  • Ambassadors
  • Plastic Soup Awards
  • Plastic Soup Atlas
  • Facts & Figures
DONATE
  • Facebook

  • Twitter

  • Instagram

  • LinkedIn

  • YouTube

  • Contact

 

© Copyright - Plastic Soup Foundation
  • Contact
  • Privacy policy
  • GDPR Consent Settings
Plastic Free Holidays: an impossible challenge?dutchess of the seaDutchess of the Sea: crossing the ocean in a pink rowing boat
Scroll to top

GDPR settings

This website uses some cookies which are placed on your device. Your web browser stores these cookies when you visit our Website: www.plasticsoupfoundation.org. These cookies will be retrieved when you visit or use our Website again. This allows us to recognise you as a previous visitor/user.

x
Settings

Your privacy and this website...

This website uses some cookies which are placed on your device. Your web browser stores these cookies when you visit our Website: www.plasticsoupfoundation.org. These cookies will be retrieved when you visit or use our Website again. This allows us to recognise you as a previous visitor/user.

Functional technology enables a website to remember information that changes the way the website behaves or looks, like your preferred language or the region that you are in. No personalised information is collected.

See details

This consent is used to track visitors across websites. The intention is to display ads that are relevant and engaging for the individual user and thereby more valuable for publishers and third party advertisers.

See details

This consent helps website owners to understand how visitors interact with websites by collecting and reporting.

See details
Forget my settings Settings have been forgotten