Cigarette butts second top polluter in PH — DENR report

MANILA, Philippines — With over 17 million Filipino smokers around, it is no wonder that cigarette butts are the number 2 in the list of the country’s top polluters.

Although small and lightweight, cigarette butts have been ranked by the Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR) as the second highest polluter in the Philippines due to the sheer volume of butts littering practically every sidewalk and main roads in the country.

To illustrate how huge the volume of discarded cigarette butts could be, Chris Nelson, president of the newly formed merger firm of Philip Morris Philippines and Fortune Tobacco Co. Inc. (PMFTC), disclosed that the number of cigarettes sold last year by Philip Morris Philippines alone had already reached 85 billion sticks.

Knowing well the added impact of its business on the environment, PMFTC has been doing its share to clear the roads of the discarded trash.

“We recognize that a used cigarette butt is a significant contributor to litter in our environment. As the leading manufacturer and marketer of cigarettes in the Philippines, PMFTC seeks to proactively address the issues caused by cigarette butt litter,” Nelson said.

The “BA2D2” anti-butt litter campaign, which was officially launched last week, is aimed at reminding the public about the right way to dispose of their used cigarette butts, by placing specially designed cigarette butt receptacles in strategic areas nationwide.

BA2D2 is a short text version of the Tagalog phrase “Ibato Mo Dito” (throw your litter here).

The importance of such a campaign cannot be overstressed as these pollutants could take up to 25 years to break down due to cellulose acetate, a type of plastic, in the filters that resists biodegradation, according to the EcoWaste Coalition.

The group earlier pointed out that discarded butts could also leach toxic chemicals into the water and soil as they corrode into tiny plastic powder.

To ensure the sustainability of this campaign, Nelson said PMFTC has been adopting a three-step method—an information and education drive, aggressive implementation of the campaign, and a planned research study to find sustainable solutions to address the issues concerning cigarette butt litter.

The company has already begun a number of activities geared towards these three steps, as it hoped to soon make the BA2D2 a byword among adult smokers and arouse their consciousness on responsible disposal of their litter.

According to Nelson, the cigarette butt disposal campaign actually started in 2009 under a “Declaration of Mutual Cooperation” between the DENR and PMFTC (then Philip Morris) in accordance with the provisions of Republic Act No. 9003, also known as the Ecological Solid Waste Management Act of 2000.

RA 9003 states that it is the policy of the State to encourage greater private sector participation in solid waste management.

Under this agreement, PMFTC has committed to provide cigarette butt receptacles to DENR.

Concerned local government units will help in the government’s solid waste management program, as well as assist the environment agency in its advocacy work on the proper disposal of cigarette butts.

“We hope that by conducting a more extensive information drive through the distribution of BA2D2 posters in strategic areas as well as the distribution of the BA2D2 specially designed trash bins, we can create awareness among cigarette smokers of how and where to properly dispose of their used cigarette butts,” Nelson explained.

Since 2009, more than a hundred BA2D2 cigarette butt receptacles have been distributed in Tanauan City, Ilocos Sur, Boracay, Baguio City, Makati City and other strategic areas.

For its efforts to look for more sustainable solutions to address this problem, Nelson said PMFTC has also signed a memorandum of agreement with the Department of Science of Technology, which would conduct a research on the alternative uses for disposed cigarette butts.

Since last year, PMFTC has already earmarked P5 million to help ensure that cigarette butts will no longer pose a serious threat to the Philippine environment. –Amy R. Remo, Philippine Daily Inquirer