In Conflans-Sainte-Honorine, civility begins on the sidewalk

“No to the proliferation of cigarette butts thrown on the sidewalks” decreed the municipality of Conflans-Sainte-Honorine (78), by launching an original prevention campaign aimed at the local population and tourists.

The town hall of Conflans-Sainte-Honorine, in the Yvelines, has decided to take action against environmental pollution by cigarette butts and is providing the town this month with several information plaques aimed at raising public awareness of the impact of cigarette butts on the environment.1].

An awareness campaign to raise awareness…

While throwing a cigarette butt on the ground is punishable by a fine of 68 euros, in France, the data relating to the quantities of cigarette butts collected each year does not seem to show the effectiveness of this ban accompanied by a financial penalty. In 2018, the city of Paris drew up 35,800 fines and collected nearly 10 million cigarette butts each day, corresponding to 350 tonnes at the end of the year[2] (https://www.lefigaro.fr/actualite-france/oui-des-millions-de-megots-sont-jetes-chaque-jour-dans-paris-20190609).

This situation is costly for the community. In addition to the financial burden of the daily collection of cigarette butts by municipal maintenance workers, environmental pollution is considerable. According to Thomas Gauvin, from the association Les Ecolibris, a cigarette butt washed away by the rain pollutes 500 liters of water by releasing its chemical components[3].

Faced with this observation, the municipality is now reacting by means of awareness-raising. It intends to make its residents and visitors aware of the extent of the consequences of this act that has become so trivial. Its information campaign is based on the arguments of environmental defenders.

Now, in the streets of Conflans-Sainte-Honorine, a dozen plaques affixed in high-traffic areas state: “Do not throw anything away, do not empty anything, the sea starts here.”

…on the dangers of cigarette butts on the environment

A cigarette butt is toxic waste and a source of pollution for the environment.3]. Made of synthetic cellulose acetate fibres, the used filter can still contain 4,000 chemical substances.

In the sea, a single cigarette butt can destroy half of the fauna present in a liter of water in four days. Some cigarette butts end up in the stomachs of fish that are part of animal and human food.