On land, in the sea, in the river, on the coasts and even in reservoirs there is a tobacco butt. Last year in Spain, according to data from the Ministry of Finance, a total of 2,182.6 million cigarette packs were sold, a figure 4.1% higher than the previous year. This means that 43,651 million cigarettes were bought, a damage to the health of smokers, also non-smokers, and to the planet, because much of this waste ends up in nature without control. In fact, one more year the ‘pitis’ is the most characterized garbage of the 119.4 tons collected by the more than 30,000 volunteers of the SEO/Birdlife Libera Project in collaboration with Ecoembes.
In the last twelve months of 2022, “this network against ‘garbage'”, as its creators baptize it, beat 1,700 points of the Spanish geography to characterize 211,000 abandoned waste where “more than 14% of the total garbage in nature they are butts”.
Hundreds of thousands of ‘forgotten’ cigarettes in the ground, more than 72,000 million worldwide according to a
french study, which contains, just one, more than 7,000 toxic substances that take about a decade to break down. A slow process that releases arsenic, nicotine and lead and “can contaminate 10,000 liters of water”, warned in 2014 a
german research titled ‘Discarded cigarette butts as a source of nicotine in urban waters’.
The remains of tobacco are the residue most found by the army of volunteers from the Libera Project, followed by small pieces of plastic, bags and wrappers, cartons and drink cans. “We are clear that the fight against ‘garbage’ cannot focus only on eliminating the waste that we generate and abandon in the field, but rather that we need to move towards a change in the production model that is more respectful of natural resources”, highlights Asunción Ruiz, Executive Director of SEO/Birdlife.
Network against ‘garbage’
This 2022, says the annual report of the project, the sixth garbage collection campaign has been completed with a total of 563.3 tons and nearly 1.1 million characterized objects. “Libera has managed to put the problem of ‘garbage’ where it belongs and we are very proud of the social response received in these years”, highlights Rosa Trigo, CEO of Ecoembes.
A network that has added 130,000 volunteers and “2,200 entities including organizations, companies, public administrations, scientists or local groups”, highlights the Annual Report of the project led by SEO/Birdlife and Ecoembes. “We want to continue adding more people,” Trigo adds.
«Libera has managed to put the problem of ‘garbage’ where it belongs and we are very proud of the social response received in these years»
pink wheat
CEO of Ecoembes
In the 72 months of the program’s existence, the volunteers for the cause have managed to rescue around 100 tons from nature every year, except in 2020 due to the coronavirus and the first exercise of raids. A job that is divided into several campaigns through different ecosystems: forests, rivers or seas.
The ‘cleaning’ of forests and fields are the ones that registered the most followers in 2022 with 6,817 volunteers, 23.61% more than in 2021, who collected 2.3 tons and identified 25,045 waste through applications such as e-Litter, Marnoba or the Garbage App. “These are essential to identify the most abundant types of ‘garbage’ in each environment and to launch adapted solutions and awareness campaigns”, highlight the promoters of the project.
However, the place where the most tons of waste are extracted are the Spanish beaches and seas. “Our alliances have allowed us to fight against the abandonment of 40 square meters of ghost nets and the removal of 4.6 tons of large waste from the Posidonia meadows of the Mediterranean,” says the Annual Report of the Libera Project. Coalitions that have led SEO/Birdlife and Ecoembes to unite with Alnitak, the Reina Sofía Foundation or Submon to clean up these ecosystems.
In the last six years, 110.7 tons of waste have been extracted from the sand and salt water, where cigarette butts reign once again. According to the Aquae Foundation of the 43,651 million cigarettes, “more than 15% ends up on the beaches.”
Butts, small pieces of plastic and wet wipes are the trident of ‘garbage’ categorized by Libera volunteers. A problem whose hours are numbered, or at least that is what the regulators are looking for, since the responsibility of keeping the beaches clean of single-use plastics, such as cigarette butts, will not only lie with individuals and administrations. Now it will also be an obligation for the tobacco industry.
«15% of the cigarettes sold in Spain end up lying on Spanish beaches»
As stated in the Code for Hazardous Waste and Substances in its last modification, the initial producer will be obliged to ensure the proper treatment of their waste. In other words, the tobacco companies will be obliged to put measures in place to contribute to the elimination of cigarette butts on the beaches, seas and oceans.
Contaminated water
The Spanish coasts are the final destination for much of the waste that is used in homes and that travels through the drains through pipes until it ends up in the rivers where the final destination begins there until the seas and oceans. In 2020 during the European Waste Prevention Week, many Spanish sewers were adorned with a plaque and a phrase: “The sea starts here”.
An alert that is reflected in the waste characterized by the almost 23,000 volunteers who have cleaned rivers, streams and reservoirs in the Libera campaigns since 2018.
Butts, cans, bags or small plastic pieces are the most categorized in these campaigns, practically the same as those found on national coasts. “After more than 5 years of activity, I think the transforming power of a project like Libera is evident,” answers Ruiz. Although, «there is still a lot of work to do apostille Wheat.
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