This pollution constitutes a huge problem for animals which tend to eat cigarette butts.
Toxic substances contained within cigarettes are frequently found in soil and water. In order to raise awareness among smokers and to restore natural beauty to green spaces, a clean-up campaign took place in the municipal park at the Kinnekswiss on Sunday.
A cigarette butt can take up to 15 years to decompose naturally, with the filters causing the most issues.
Antonio Casafina launched the Kinnekswiss cleaning campaign on Facebook and took the opportunity to supply volunteers present on Sunday with information on the environmental impact of cigarettes.
As well as tobacco, cigarettes also contain plastic. Many animals confuse them with food and later die as a result. Casafina said throwing cigarette butts down drains was not an option as they would eventually end up in the sea, where a cigarette butt can pollute up to 500 litres of water.
A large number of volunteers took turns to clean up the park and the surrounding area on Sunday, despite cold temperatures. Many of the volunteers expressed the importance of cleaning up after oneself, hoping their actions would help to spur others on to take care of the environment. One solution to the problem is carrying a pocket ashtray, in which the waste could be kept until one reaches a bin.
Sunday's clean-up efforts were passed on to the City of Luxembourg's hygiene services, where the waste will be weighed and counted. Casafina said he was still considering what projects he could undertake with the collected cigarette butts in order to raise more awareness.
(video in Luxembourgish)
