An average discarded cigarette butt is 3 centimeters. The average weight is 300 milligrams. On average, per year, there is 1.69 pounds of cigarette butts that are discarded. Convert the 300 milligrams to the average weight in pounds- .000661387 pounds per butt. Then I did some simple math:
1,690,000,000 total weight
——————————————— = 25,552,361,930 cigarette butts a year.
.000661387 per butt
Twenty-five billion, five hundred fifty-two million, three hundred sixty-one thousand, nine hundred thirty. That’s not even counting all the cigarette butts from previous years. Twenty-five billion, five hundred fifty-two million, three hundred sixty-one thousand, nine hundred thirty cigarette butts! Let that sink in. Twenty-five billion, five hundred fifty-two million, three hundred sixty-one thousand, nine hundred thirty cigarette butts.
This one caught my eye though. I probably pass hundreds a day, littered on the ground and don’t think anything of it. But, this one struck me. Half in the bog, half on the wood. Much like the cigarette, the wood it sits on comes from nature but is manufactured to make the 2×4. The cigarette takes paper and tobacco to make the toxic, man-made cigarette. Intertwined with the brush, it almost seems like the cigarette butt is part of the bog, much like the boardwalk has become intertwined with the brush. But, a boardwalk isn’t a cigarette butt and a cigarette butt isn’t a boardwalk. Both human made, both becoming one with nature, where does one draw the line of what is litter and what is fine to add to the environment? It’s funny how one cigarette butt; one out of twenty-five billion, five hundred fifty-two million, three hundred sixty-one thousand, nine hundred thirty cigarette butts can strike so much thought.
Sources:
“Cigarette Butt Waste.” Cigarette Butt Waste, www.no-smoke.org/learnmore.php?id=731.
Sydney Water Limited. “Cigarette Butt Litter.” Ark Research Report, Apr. 1995.
The title for your blog post is very interesting, i immediately wanted to click on it and know what you were getting at. I love how you make the connection between the cigarette butt and the boardwalk becoming part of nature.
I thought the same thing as Sochina, the title was a very good hook for me. You are also very observant to have noticed this cigarette butt and thought about it.