Redaccion
Yesterday, the Alcobendas City Council and the Ávora association launched a campaign to raise awareness among smokers in the municipality about the significant impact of dropping a cigarette butt on the ground after finishing a cigarette.
The Councilor for the Environment, Jesús Montero, and the Councilor for Institutional Relations, Carmen Arcas, accompanied the team of monitors from this association and also distributed reusable portable ashtrays to buyers at the municipal market every Monday.
Montero emphasized that «the objective of this campaign is to reduce the impact of cigarette butts on the environment and public health. Properly extinguishing the butt and disposing of it in a portable ashtray or a trash can is a small but necessary gesture to take care of our streets.»
The monitors from the Ávora association were at the municipal market until 1 pm distributing hundreds of small portable bags and raising awareness among smokers that their actions are key to keeping Alcobendas clean. This Ávora team will return to the market on May 5th and 19th.
It is estimated that 766,571 tons of cigarette butts end up in the trash each year. Each cigarette filter contains cellulose acetate fibers, a microplastic that takes years to decompose. If it ends up on the ground, in rivers, and eventually in the sea, it can be ingested by fish and enter the food chain.
The campaign aims to promote the idea that, just as we avoid littering with paper or other waste, when we smoke a cigarette, we should not discard it on the ground. This behavior has already gained traction in certain places like the beach and needs to be extended to all urban public spaces.
Ávora is a non-profit association created by tobacco producers to assist in the proper management of this waste and raise awareness among the public about the importance of properly disposing of cigarette butts.
