[codeddesign]

It’s a little subjective though. 800 Starbucks cups is a much larger issue compared to 1500 cigarette butts (for example)

[jazzyjackson]

Is it tho? Coffee cups are made of paper. Cigarette butts are a plastic foam embedded with a multitude of carcinogens.

[mihok]

I don't have a reference, but I believe coffee cups are assumed to be recyclable even though actually, and in most part due to the polyethylene-lined inside, they are not.

[hanniabu]

And here I am thinking it was a wax lining. Why would you a plastic lining for something you put hot liquid in, which would cause leeching? (Not that was doesn't have issues, aka melting)

[merlincorey]

Try putting some hot water in a "cup" you make from paper and you may find that the thin plastic barrier makes some functional sense.

I agree however, that I'd rather just use re-usable glass or metal cup (with a handle or suitable insulated wrappping) and avoid the potential for hot liquids leaching things out of plastic!

[toomanybeersies]

Not all plastic causes leeching, and as you said, wax melts which is definitely leeching.

[layoutIfNeeded]

Wrong. Cigarette filters are made from cellulose.

[singron]

Cigarette filters are made from cellulose acetate, which you could consider a plastic although it's not a petrochemical (it's the same plastic commonly used in eyeglass frames).

However, a used cigarette butt will additionally contain adhesives and any flavorings as well as some leftover compounds deposited by the smoke. The wikipedia article goes into higher detail on this: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cigarette_filter

Cellulose acetate is only sort-of biodegradable like Cellulose. Here is a study looking at the topic: https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007%2Fs10924-010-0258-...

> Cellulose is readily biodegraded by organisms that utilize cellulase enzymes, but due to the additional acetyl groups cellulose acetate requires the presence of esterases for the first step in biodegradation. Once partial deacetylation has been accomplished either by enzymes, or by partial chemical hydrolysis, the polymer’s cellulose backbone is readily biodegraded.

I.e. if you throw butts in an ordinary compost pile, they might not get anywhere for a while.

[pbhjpbhj]

Are they all? I've always assumed they were plastic, surprised this hasn't been raised to my notice before, eg in advertising "our cigarettes are entirely compostable" or something.

[ac29]

You're both right: cigarette filters are made from cellulose acetate, which is a synthetic polymer fiber.

[NeedMoreTea]

I suspect filling them with tar and other gunk from the burnt tobacco puts them closer to hazardous waste than nicely compostable.

[IfOnlyYouKnew]

Tar, and other tobacco detritus, isn't really dangerous: The asphalt it's lying on is actually very similar, chemically.

Cigarette butts without the filter are easily degraded organic (carbon) compounds. You can compost them and will get perfectly acceptable potting soil.

Same story for the various additives. As a rule, anything that has a physiological effect and isn't a heavy metal is biodegradable.

[autoexec]

they are made from cellulose acetate and take 15-20 years to break down. The same stuff they used to make tape drives for the IBM 701