This Is What A Mountain Of 650,000 Cigarette Butts Looks Like After Big Clean Up

People look at a pile of cigarette butts, collected in one week, at Comercio square in Lisbon on April 23, 2023. - Environmental activists gathered in one week around 650,000 cigarette butts and piled them up today in a square in central Lisbon to raise awerness against this type of pollution. (Photo by PATRICIA DE MELO MOREIRA / AFP) (Photo by PATRICIA DE MELO MOREIRA/AFP via Getty Images) — A pile of cigarette butts collected in one week, at Comercio Square in Lisbon (Picture: Getty)

Pictures have revealed how a casually discarded cigarette butt is not such a little problem.

Climate activists piled up this mountain of 650,000 butts collected in just one week in Portugal’s capital Lisbon.

They collected enough dog ends to fill 40 plastic containers, in a bid to raise awareness of how plastic hidden in cigarette butts contributes towards pollution.

German campaigner, Andreas Noe, wore a special breathing apparatus to protect him from toxins as he stood on top of the pile in Comercio Square.

Noe, 34, said: ‘We asked everyone in Portugal to take part in this community project to raise awareness about plastic pollution, because plastic is hidden in cigarette butts and many people don’t know it.’

The simple cigarette butt was a ‘beautiful example of how someone can start to take action’ against littering, ocean pollution and ultimately, the climate crisis, he added.

Two years ago, Noe said he collected one million stubs in two months.

Fellow demonstrator David Figueira added: ‘We want to put an end to this problem by encouraging people to throw their butts in the bin or pocket ashtrays – anywhere but on the ground.’

German environmental activist, Andreas Noe, 34 years old, poses with a pile of cigarette butts, collected in one week, at Comercio square in Lisbon on April 23, 2023. - Environmental activists gathered in one week around 650,000 cigarette butts and piled them up today in a square in central Lisbon to raise awerness against this type of pollution. (Photo by PATRICIA DE MELO MOREIRA / AFP) (Photo by PATRICIA DE MELO MOREIRA/AFP via Getty Images) — Andreas Noe posing with the pile of cigarette butts in Lisbon (Picture: AFP / Getty)

Containers, full of cigarette butts collected in one week, are displayed at Comercio square in Lisbon on April 23, 2023. - Environmental activists gathered in one week around 650,000 cigarette butts and piled them up today in a square in central Lisbon to raise awerness against this type of pollution. (Photo by PATRICIA DE MELO MOREIRA / AFP) (Photo by PATRICIA DE MELO MOREIRA/AFP via Getty Images) — Activists collected enough butts to fill 40 plastic containers in one week (Picture: AFP/ Getty)

{“@context”:”https:\/\/schema.org”,”@type”:”VideoObject”,”name”:”Metro.co.uk”,”duration”:”T30S”,”thumbnailUrl”:”https:\/\/videos.metro.co.uk\/pix\/met\/2018\/06\/01\/15\/4CD1A0C100000578-0-image-a-1_1527863590662.jpg”,”uploadDate”:”2018-06-01T15:24:26+0100″,”description”:”Watch what cigarettes really do to your heart.”,”contentUrl”:”https:\/\/videos.metro.co.uk\/video\/met\/2018\/06\/01\/8157610757066833376\/480x270_MP4_8157610757066833376.mp4″,”height”:270,”width”:480}

To view this video please enable JavaScript, and consider upgrading to a web
browser that
supports HTML5
video

Some 4.5 trillion butts are discarded every year worldwide, the World Health Organisation said.

Cigarette butts contribute to more than 700,000 tonnes of waste every year, according to The Clean Earth Trust.

Butts account for around 30% of all street litter in the UK, with 120,000 tonnes – roughly the size of a Blue Whale – of cigarette-related waste being dumped on the streets every day, the environmental charity said.

Get in touch with our news team by emailing us at [email protected].

For more stories like this, check our news page.

Source link