Cigarette litter is #2 type of debris picked up at annual NJ beach sweeps
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On April 25, 2015 Clean Ocean Action issued its 2014 Clean Ocean Action report on beach debris collected from 32 sampling locations in New Jersey from the list of over 70 Beach Sweeps sites. The sites span Monmouth, Ocean, Atlantic, and Cape May Counties and vary in several physical and use characteristics. Field sampling occurred from July to October 2014.
For the two 2014 beach sweeps, smoking-related debri ranked as the 2nd most collected type of litter: 30,241 cigarette filters (9.6% of all trash collected), 891 cigarette lighters (.28%), 1681 cigarette packaging items (.53%), 6366 cigar tips (2.02%) were collected, totaling 12.43% of all waste collected.
Clean Ocean Action’s 2014 report also lists the “10 Tips for the Beach” which includes “The Beach is not an ashtray. [Cigarette filters] do not biodegrade and are highly toxic to marine animals that mistake them for food.”
Read how cigarette filters harm the environment
Read the full 2014 Clean Ocean Action report
Read the April 25, 2015 Clean Ocean Action press release on their annual report.