Almost 2 billion pounds of cigarette butts end up in the world's waterways a year, adding nicotine, heavy metals, benzene and other carcinogens, and plastic fibers that will eventually poison our water systems. Cigarette butts take up to 15 years to breakdown but that doesn't mean they actually biodegrade. Instead, they become tiny filter particles, which clog up ecosystems with even more plastics. Before they break down, butts can pose risks to animals who mistake them for food.
This initiative would be a crucial step in requiring cigarette companies to use biodegradable cigarette filters in all of their products by the year 2016.