The common perception is that cigarettes are biodegradable, which is, of course, perpetuated by every smoker on the planet. Yes, the paper and tobacco are organic, but let's not forget those nasty little plastic filters*, specifically designed to lessen the deadly impact to the smoker's lungs, but have no personal regard for anything else. But then, who cares about the environment or any of the wildlife that may consume said plastic...isn't life about survival of the fittest? After all, it is said that those species with stronger constitutions and a genetic predisposition to digest plastic should inherit the earth....
No, I'm totally all about teaching those animals to toughen up and appreciate the nutritional value in plastic. Putting the needs of wild ANIMALS over the nicotinic NEEDS of real humans is simply inane....just ignore those damned animal-lovers and all their tree-hugging, carbon-stingy protests.
That said, what does concern me here, is the impact these butts have on the human designated to clean this ashtray in the photo above. It already sucks to be the ashtray-cleaner, but to force this human to stoop down to pick up the butts on the ground because some inconsiderate parasite could not deign to place the butt in the tray is beyond offensive.
No, you may not care about the environment or wildlife; in fact, you may not even buy into the whole Global Warming conspiracy. But trash on the ground looks like trash on the ground, so this winter take that extra second to warm your fingers with that nice, toasty butt and throw it IN the ashtray, rather than NEAR it.
*There is a lot of misinformation out there regarding cigarette butt litter. The biggest myth is that cigarette filters are biodegradable. In fact, cigarette butts are not biodegradable in the sense that most people think of the word. The acetate (plastic) filters can take many years to decompose. Smokers may not realize that their actions have such a lasting, negative impact on the environment.
No comments:
Post a Comment
What's on your mind???