"As the world’s beaches and oceans have become one giant ashtray, research has accelerated on what many are calling a global crisis."
"Back in 1964, when only around half of manufactured cigarettes had filters, a Wisconsin inventor patented a filter made from dairy—specifically from hard cheeses like Parmesan, Romano, Swiss, or aged cheddar. He advised mixing charcoal with the cheese to keep the filter from becoming rancid. The goal was to find another market for Wisconsin cheesemakers, not to create a filter devoid of microplastics. Too bad.
Today, spent filters—cigarette butts stuffed with microplastics—are some of the most abundant litter on the beach, which is just one stop on their toxic marine journey that often begins in storm drains.
Researchers have published a number of studies in 2023 on the problem of cigarette butt littering, from a review of studies on environmental contamination to a global analysis of the crisis. In fact, the number of studies is on the rise, with researchers publishing twice as many in 2022 compared with 2021."
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