The cigarette butt just might be the biggest little polluter on the planet.
According to the World Health Organization, up to 10 billion of the 15 billion cigarettes sold daily are disposed of in the environment, and a 2011 research paper says the butts contain a wide variety of chemicals, over 50 of which are known to be carcinogenic to human beings.
Unfortunately, the filters on these cigarette butts are really tough and won’t disintegrate for eight to 15 years. During all that time their toxic ingredients are leached into the soil or water with serious consequences.
In 2021, a Mexican company called Eco Filter inaugurated a plant in Guadalajara dedicated to detoxifying and recycling huge quantities of cigarette butts collected by volunteers all over the nation. How they do it and how they got started makes for a fascinating story.
In 2012, UNAM Biologist Leopoldo Benitez was working on his licentiate thesis and looking for something that could break down cigarette butts.
He went on a field trip to Michoacán where he spotted oyster mushrooms growing on a log, and he decided to bring a few samples back to his university lab in Iztacala.
“This fungus breaks down wood, which is cellulose,” he reasoned. “So, it should do the same job on cigarette filters.”
Please login or subscribe to view the complete article.