Study Reveals Cigarette Butts - Not Plastic Straws - Are the Biggest Ocean Contaminant

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Everyone from Marriott and Hyatt to Starbucks and McDonald’s are implementing their own plastic straw bans.

But according to a new report from NBC News, the source of our collective energy may be misplaced. The report suggests that the biggest man-made contaminant of the world’s oceans is not plastic straws, or even plastic bags, but cigarette butts.

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A campaign, the Cigarette Butt Pollution Project, hopes to ban cigarette filters, which are made from cellulose acetate, a type of plastic that can take over a decade to decompose, according to NBC. Of the 5.6 trillion cigarettes that are made with these filters each year, as many as two-thirds are dumped irresponsibly.

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While tobacco companies and startups continue to look for alternative to growing cigarette waste, Novotny and others are fighting to get legislation passed that would ban cigarette filters. Attempts to pass legislation have failed thus far, due in no small part to the fact that many lawmakers receive campaign contributions from the tobacco industry.

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