Today I Learned

I knew about the first part and the third and fourth, but I had no idea that it also contributed so much to plastic pollution.

Car tires are supposed to be bad. I remember reading each loses ~1kg in pulverised plastic dust over the lifetime?
Luckily, at least some of that is filtered from the air by people's lungs.

Presumably plastic pollution is a superset of microplastic pollution

I thought so too, and maybe they are using a different metric in this article, but I couldn't tell you since their source URL is a deadline.......

https://www.surfrider.org/programs/beach-cleanups

It's one of those big cultural shifts that has gone on in my life slowly but steadily. I recall my school bus driver would smoke doing his rounds, people smoking almost everywhere, even grocery stores. My family had lots of smokers, 3 out of my 4 grandparents smoked, all paid the piper, the habit led to their demise. Vending machines selling cigarettes everywhere. I recall it first was restricted on airplanes, with smoking sections separated with curtains, then in restaurants. A lot of it was ineffective and mostly symbolic, but then the biggest change was when California banned almost all indoor smoking in businesses, other states followed suit over the next decade. That combined with all the legal problems the tobacco industry had in the 90s has really caused a dramatic shift.

It's the hardest thing about traveling to Europe for me. I love being in Europe, but after living in a part of the US with almost no smokers it is jarring to smell cigarette smoke everywhere on the streets there.

I live in the U.S. too and I still see a ton here in Indiana, but we also apparently have a nicotine addiction epidemic here that no one talks about much.

As of 2022:

Nearly 29% of Indiana adults currently use tobacco. Combustible cigarettes are the most used tobacco product, followed by e-cigarettes.

https://www.in.gov/health/tpc/files/Indiana-Adult-Tobacco-Survey-ATS-2021_2022-Highlights_Revised_Nov22.pdf

I mean, who cares? It's the smokers' problem? If you can't dispose of your trash take it with you or stop producing it until you can. That's true for any trash.

We expect people to carry doggie bags, too. Just clean up after yourself.

I realize that's idealistic and it's never going to happen because smokers be littering, but it makes me mad regardless.

When I smoked I always put my butts in my pocket.

It's not hard to pick up after yourself. Put the cig out, and instead of dropping it on the ground put it in your pocket. If thats too stinky carry a sandwich bag or dog poop bag for them.

Now that that's out of the way, it's interesting that birds have been using cigarette butts to line their nests. Turns out nicotine is a great miticide. Hopefully it's not hurting them in the long run, which is why we should pick up our fucking garbage.

flicking your cigarette into the void was completely normal every place that i lived in the US. it isn't thought about or frowned upon. it's simply part of the ritual of having a cigarette.

For many smokers, the world is their ashtray.

I just get all the tobacco out of the butt and put it in my back pocket until I find a trash can. It makes me stink even worse but that's better than littering.

public infrastructure doesn't give you a lot of options for getting rid of butts

It's literally the same infrastructure as for every other kind of litter: a bin. Just stamp it out and throw it away. If there isn't a bin take it with you and throw it out later. Before I quit smoking I had a small plastic vial with a screw lid that I collected the butts in for later disposal. A small jar, dedicated pocket ash tray or in a pinch even a plastic bag or simply a pocket would work too. It's really not that hard.

I realise you're probably not one of the people who litter their cigarette butts, but you still shouldn't be making excuses for people who do. Throwing cigarettes on the ground is no better than any other kind of littering. And while I'm at it: the same goes for bottle caps.

I also had the idea that fishing nets were the most common sea plastic.

We should go back to using natural materials for filters, like asbestos. /s