Spatial and temporal variations of tobacco waste pollution in our cities

Cigarette butts are hazardous wastes which are usually littered by smokers and are among the most common litter in urban environments. Littered cigarette butts (LCBs) contain many pollutants that leak from it. This litter has adverse effects on the environment and is toxic to various organisms. This study aimed to investigate the quantity of littered cigarette butts at different times in different places in an urban environment. For this purpose, the cigarette butt pollution index was calculated using the assessed density of littered cigarette butts in the urban area. The findings indicated that the distribution of littered cigarette butts varies on different days and seasons in the investigated city. The average density of cigarette butts during the working days was 1.24 times higher than this amount during the weekends. The figure was 1.14 times higher in summer than winter. Furthermore, the distribution of littered cigarette butts was not the same in all parts of the city. The average density of cigarette butts in the commercial areas was 0.385 item/m 2 , while this amount was 0.005 item/m 2 in the best location. The results suggest that 33% and %25 of the studied areas were in low and high pollution status, respectively, on summer working days. However, the index was considerably different during the weekends and in winter. Non-uniform distribution of littered cigarette butts in cities should be considered in cleanup planning in order to minimize cigarette butt pollution in urban environments.