Cigarette butts hinder plant growth, study finds

Scientists at the University of Anglia Ruskin (Cambridge, UK) conducted an experiment to assess the influence of cigarette butts on plant growth. Cigarette butts were placed in pots with clover and ryegrass seeds. The control pots contained pieces of wood of the same shape and size as the cigarette butts.

It was found that the presence of cigarette butts causes a reduction in the germination of 10% in ryegrass and 27% in clover, as well as affecting the length of the shoots and the density of the roots in the two plants.  

Cigarette butts are made of cellulose acetate, a type of plastic. According to the study, this material is the main responsible for the non-development of plants.

This study is enlightening and reinforces an idea, the place of cigarette butts is not in Nature.