What is left behind when the lights go off? Comparing the abundance and composition of litter in urban areas with different intensity of nightlife use in Mar del Plata, Argentina

Anthropogenic Litter on Beaches With Different Levels of Development and Use: A Snapshot of a Coast in Pernambuco (Brazil)

“…The category of mixed source included anthropogenic litter of unclear origin (e.g., disposable diapers could be either from beach users or from land-based sources). Cigarette butts were also of uncertain origin because they can be discarded by users on beaches or in urban centers, and can reach the beaches through transportation by urban runoff (Armitage and Rooseboom, 2000;Becherucci and Pon, 2014;Williams et al, 2016). Fragments larger than 2 cm were sampled following the same sample design of the aforementioned categories (100 × 1 m sections).…”

Measurement of airborne emissions from extinguished cigarettes:

“…These cigarette butts can persist in the environment for more than 18 months (Novotny and Zhao 1999). Cigarette butts are some of the most common forms of litter found on beaches (Claereboudt 2004, Smith et al 2014, near streams, night clubs (Becherucci and Pon 2014), bus stops (Wilson et al 2014), roads and streets (Healton et al 2011, Patel et al 2013. Cigarette butts have been found at densities averaging more than 4 butts m -2 in urban environments ( Figure 1.1) (Seco Pon and Becherucci 2012).…”

From Plant to Waste: The Long and Diverse Impact Chain Caused by Tobacco Smoking

“…It is known that, in more developed urban centers, especially in areas with a high concentration of users, there are usually a large number of cigarette butts discarded by smokers in public spaces, such as roads, commercial areas, and bars. Probably, this fact is due to the greater concentration of points of sale of the product in these places [1,32,33,34]. This scenario has been found in central areas of Mar del Plata (main tourist city of the Argentine coast) by studies whose main goal had been to determine whether the level of use of certain areas had an influence on the production of waste.…”

“…and another more isolated residential area with practically no nightlife. A total of 13,503 items were found, 42.8% of which were cigarette butts (5575 items in areas with intensive nightlife, and only 201 in the residential area) [33]. According to the authors, part of the waste observed in the study might have been one of the sources of waste found on beaches along the coastline of the city.…”