Australia urged to tax industry to combat cigarette butts

An article in The Conversation, based on a recent report published by World Wildlife Fund for Nature Australia (WWF), calls on the Australian government to address the issue of cigarette butts and filters. In particular, the author calls for the tobacco industry, which is responsible for producing this highly toxic waste, to be held responsible.

The issue of cigarette filter and cigarette butt waste has a strong environmental and economic stakeThe 8.9 billion cigarette butts thrown away annually in Australia are a major source of pollution. It is estimated that collecting and treating this waste costs the government more than €46 million per year.[1].

Voluntary program and binding program

In March 2021, the National Plastics Plan, developed by the Australian federal government, committed the public authorities to set up a task force to reduce cigarette butts. Other waste management programs already exist in Australia, and can be of different natures. On the one hand, these can be managed according to a voluntary program, like the Australian Packaging Covenant, setting waste reduction targets, without enshrining them in law. On the other hand, the programs can be binding: for example, Australian manufacturers of televisions or computers are required by law to bear part of the costs of recycling these products, through the introduction of a dedicated tax.

Cigarette butt management, a lever of influence for the tobacco industry

In this case, the National Plastics Plan provides for a voluntary program for the management of cigarette butts. According to the article, this method of management, based on a voluntary program, is however ineffective. Indeed, the establishment of a voluntary system systematically leads the tobacco industry to set up awareness campaigns aimed at the general public, to provide city or individual ashtrays, and to finance anti-litter groups. However, research conducted on the subject shows that the proliferation of ashtrays is part of a logic of renormalization of smoking, contrary to public health objectives. Furthermore, the campaigns led by the tobacco industry tend to place the entire responsibility for waste on the consumer, while cigarette butts and filters are primarily the work of cigarette companies. Finally, these voluntary management programs are regularly used by the industry to carry out social responsibility actions, and engage in partnership relations with public authorities, although the World Health Organization's Framework Convention on Tobacco Control (FCTC) prohibits these practices.

Tax manufacturers to support the collection and treatment of cigarette butts

To assess the opportunity of possible avenues to address this economic and environmental problem, the study conducted by WWF in Australia looked at four scenarios: maintaining the status quo, initiate a voluntary management program by the tobacco industry, ban plastic filters, or implement a mandatory management program, led by the Australian federal government. According to the WWF report, banning plastic filters and establishing a mandatory management system would be the two most beneficial options, particularly in terms of environmental preservation. In parallel, the report recommends the introduction of a tax of 0.4 cents per cigarette, in order to finance the collection and treatment of cigarette butts. However, a study conducted in 2011 by the journal Tobacco Control in Canada suggested a higher tax, at 20 cents per pack, or about twice as much as in the Australian proposal.[2].

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[1] The Conversation, Making the tobacco industry pay for cigarette litter could stop 4.5 billion butts polluting the Australian environment, 05/12/2021, (accessed 07/12/2021)

[2] Schneider JE, Peterson NA, Kiss N, et al, Tobacco litter costs and public policy: a framework and methodology for considering the use of fees to offset abatement costs, Tobacco Control 2011;20:i36-i41.