Fact sheet 13: Cigarette filters in wastewater

Carelessly discarded cigarette filters in a storm drain. The filters enter the environment through storm drains and wind drift.

Fact sheet 13: Cigarette filters in wastewater

Plastic pollution in the environment - causes and solutions

An estimated 11 billion cigarette filters are released into the environment in Germany every year. They are mostly made of cellulose acetate, a type of plastic. In addition, cigarette filters also contain numerous other toxins.

The European Union has therefore included cigarette filters in the Single-Use Plastics Directive. It relies on the responsibility of manufacturers with regard to education, waste prevention and cleaning. From a scientific point of view, however, more comprehensive measures are necessary.

The InRePlast project examines and classifies the occurrence of plastic parts of at least 1 mm in size in sewage treatment plants and road drainage systems in the municipalities of Aachen, Roetgen, Simmerath and Stollberg. Surveys and a laboratory experiment support the analyses. Based on this, proposals for environmental policy instruments to prevent the inputs are developed.

Fact sheet 13 is available for download here.

Year
2022
Type of Result
Citation

Daskalakis, Maria; Kollmorgen, Florian; Breitbarth, Marco; Hentschel, Anja; Kaser, Simon; Kaskel, Myriam (2022): Cigarette Filters in Wastewater: Plastic pollution in the environment - causes and solutions. Factsheet 13 of the BMBF Research Focus Plastic in the Environment..

Joint project
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