Last week [3 December], the EU Council supported stronger measures for smoke-free environments across the EU, including outdoor areas such as the beach.

The North Sea Foundation, a member of Seas At Risk, has been investigating litter along the Dutch North Sea coast for more than 20 years. What stands out the most in their findings? The large number of cigarette butts on the beach.

If one cigarette can pollute 1000 litres of water, imagine the impact of millions of cigarette butts on our ocean.

Cigarette butts – 95% plastic and chock-full of chemicals – are a risk to marine and coastal environments and wildlife. Cleanup efforts come too late to combat their ecological harm, and while raising awareness to curb littering or banning plastic cigarette filters are two important steps to protect the ocean from further harm, they can take long to make a difference (due to long legal processes or difficulty monitoring effects). That’s why the North Sea Foundation is calling on coastal municipalities to establish a network of smoke-free beaches, which can lead to fewer cigarettes on beaches in the short term.

 

Today, only four municipalities in the Netherlands (Noordwijk, Goeree-Overflakkee, Renesse, and The Hague) have stretches of smoke-free beaches, but shows that support for more is growing.

National bans and smoke-free areas are washing up on beaches across the EU, with each country adapting their rules accordingly:

In December 2021, a smoking ban went into effect on Spanish beaches. Since then, Spanish municipalities have found that smoke-free beaches reduce their cleaning costs and are beneficial for tourism.

In 2019 several Belgian municipalities started establishing smoke-free beach zones, where violators would receive fines of up to €350. A survey is underway to investigate a national smoking ban.

In Italy, smoke-free beaches are slowly proving effective. At one beach in Sardinia, people are only allowed to smoke at private clubs. This way they collected 140.000 cigarette butts that would otherwise have ended up on the beach.

The North Sea Foundation has launched a campaign and petition pushing for more action against cigarette butt waste. They are asking municipalities to:

• Establish smoke-free zones on beaches
• Install more and better waste facilities for disposing of cigarette butts
• Consider cigarette disposal measures in permitting for beach events
• Make beachgoers aware of the harm littered cigarette butts cause and encourage them to dispose of cigarette butts properly

For greater uptake, municipalities that already have smoke-free zones and can exchange knowledge and experiences with those that do not. National governments could play a role in this and could take responsibility in researching potential issues at municipal level such as enforcement.

Sign the petition and reach out to Gita Maas to learn more about smoke-free beaches in the Netherlands and in the EU.

 

 

 

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Posted on: 13 December 2024

• Clean ocean
• Ocean plastic pollution