Ireland: Tobacco industry to help fund street cleaning

Since the 1^er January, tobacco companies must contribute financially to street cleaning in Ireland, under new government legislation, which transposes the European Union's Single-Use Plastics Directive, or SUP Directive, into Irish domestic law. The Tobacco Free Institute, which has endorsed the need to make tobacco companies bear some of the financial cost of pollution, warns, however, that the new legislation could be followed by greenwashing strategies by cigarette companies.

According to the National Litter Pollution Monitoring System, more than half of the litter collected in Ireland is cigarette butts. This high pollution comes with financial costs for public authorities: in 2021, €85 million was spent by local authorities on street cleaning, including €36 million in Dublin[1].

The exact amount of the financial contribution is not yet fixed, due to the fact that the data on cigarette butts is still incomplete. During the month of January, a statutory company, under the supervision of the Ministry of the Environment, will have to be set up to ensure that producers comply with the European directive. The new legislation, which applies primarily to cigarette manufacturers, does not only concern the tobacco sector, and will gradually make fishing gear, balloons and wipes contribute, within the framework of extended producer responsibility. Producers will thus become responsible for the entire life cycle of their products, including end-of-use costs.

Concrete modalities of contribution in Ireland still pending

To date, the concrete terms of this contribution are therefore not fully known. For Luke Clancy, general director of the Tobacco Free Institute, the whole challenge lies precisely in the realization of this new program.[2]. Indeed, such an initiative can be instrumentalized by the tobacco industry in a strategy to renormalize smoking, or in a spirit of greenwashing, aimed at restoring the image of cigarette manufacturers among consumers and public decision-makers. For anti-smoking NGOs, given the specific nature of the sector, directly responsible for colossal human, health, economic, social or environmental costs, the contribution of the tobacco industry must be exclusively financial and restrictive, and must not allow it to present itself as a socially responsible actor.

After France's bad example, public health NGOs remain vigilant

Thus, as Luke Clancy recalls, this reversal of the principle of extended producer responsibility was observed in France, through the establishment of an eco-organization, Alcome, approved by the public authorities, but emanating exclusively from tobacco manufacturers and the Confederation of tobacconists. As a result, the eco-organization completely evades the responsibility of the tobacco industry in the pollution generated by cigarette butts, by placing the blame solely on smokers, while it plans to implement measures recognized as counterproductive, such as the distribution of pocket ashtrays, while omitting provisions demonstrated to be effective (removal of the filter, increase in smoke-free areas, etc.).

FT

[1] Irish Times, Tobacco firms to pay for street cleaning under new legislation, 12/31/2022, (accessed 01/03/2023)

[2] News Talk, Tobacco companies will start contributing to Ireland's street cleaning bills from tomorrow under new government legislation, 12/31/2022, (accessed 01/03/2023)

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