CHATTANOOGA, Tenn — The most littered item in the world is something many people barely notice when it hits the ground.
Cigarette butts.
Each year, billions are tossed aside, and many end up in waterways like the Tennessee River.
At the Tennessee Aquarium plaza, recycling bins are giving those cigarette butts a second life.
These recycling boxes are set up throughout the Tennessee Aquarium plaza to help recycle the most littered item in the world.
File photo: Getty Images.
Cigarette butts make up nearly 88% of litter smaller than four inches, according to Keep America Beautiful.
And they don’t just disappear.
Most filters are made of plastic fibers that can take years to break down, all while releasing chemicals into the soil and water.
“The plastic in the cigarette butts is made out of cellulose acetate when it does break down, it leaches those chemicals,” said Kyle Coleman with the Tennessee Aquarium.
File photo: Getty Images.
That’s where this program comes in.
With help from Keep Tennessee River Beautiful and the Tennessee Valley Authority, cigarette receptacles have been placed in high-traffic areas to encourage proper disposal.
So we were able to receive cigarette receptacles and grant funding to implement this program,” said Kathleen Gibi. “And then we partnered to create educational art wraps on the cigarette receptacles.
The idea is simple: Give smokers a place to put cigarette butts before they end up on the ground.
Similar programs are already in place at parks, welcome centers, and even Dollywood, which officials say recycles every cigarette butt collected on its property.
Those recycled filters can be turned into new materials, including park benches.
But if they are not collected, the impact can be serious.
“Cigarette butts actually can contain enough toxins to kill aquatic life within two gallons of surrounding water,” Gibi said.
For a city built along the Tennessee River, that hits close to home.
“And think about the water you drink the fish that are swimming around it’s all connected,” Coleman said.
The goal is to change habits one small step at a time.
Because what ends up on the ground doesn’t always stay there.
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