Cigarette Butts
It is estimated that up to 8.9 billion butts* are littered in Australia every year.
Cigarette butts are the most littered item on the planet, making them the most abundant form of plastic waste in the world, with about 4.5 trillion individual butts polluting our global environment.
Each year, they are the single most reported litter item across Australia, in 2020 representing 16% of all recorded items in our Rubbish Report.
The Problem
According to a report by WWF*, littered butts pose a range of hazards and problems in natural environments.
Cigarette filters are made from non-biodegradable plastic. Once littered, butts accumulate in the marine environment and leach toxic materials. They break up slowly, shedding microfibres and taking up to 14 years to decompose.
Around one-third of nearly 100 chemicals that leach from cigarette butts are acutely or chronically toxic to aquatic species.
Cigarette butts have been found in the stomachs of birds, turtles, whales and fish, where they affect digestion and potentially lead to poisoning or starvation.
Birds that line their nests with discarded butts may experience long-term genetic damage and other health risks due to their exposure to toxic chemicals.
What can you do?
List of Services
In an Australian first, oyster mushrooms are being trained to feast on cigarette butts to break down their microplastics and create a reusable product!
A new report says Australia could halve the number of plastic cigarette butts entering the environment each year by making tobacco companies responsible for the pollution they help create.

Placing direct responsibility on tobacco companies through a mandatory national product stewardship scheme
could prevent around four billion cigarette butts being littered.
The report says a levy of $0.004 (less than half a cent) per cigarette could raise $71 million per year to fund the product stewardship scheme. Alternatively, tobacco companies could be required to directly fund the scheme.
The report commissioned by the World Wide Fund for Nature-Australia analyses seven strategies to reduce butt litter.
Inspire your family and friends to make a change by sharing your pledge and tagging @CleanUpAustralia #CleanUpAustralia
Clean Up Australia acknowledges the Traditional Owners of Country throughout Australia and their continuing connection to land, waters and community. We pay our respects to Elders past and present.