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32 Billion Cigarette Butts Discarded in Korea Each Year
관리자 2023-10-06 오후 2:04:22 22712

32 Billion Cigarette Butts Discarded in Korea Each Year



An estimated 32 billion cigarette butts or half the country's annual cigarette consumption are discarded in Korea each year.

While some countries make efforts to reduce littering, Korea is leaving the matter to chance although the Ministry of Environment has been collecting a waste disposal surcharge worth W90 billion a year since it raised cigarette prices in 2015 (US$1=W1,337)

. According to the World Health Organization, 4.5 trillion out of roughly 6 trillion cigarettes produced per year are discarded worldwide. The U.S. spends US$756.5 million annually collecting and disposing of them. In the U.K., about 68 percent of all litter is cigarette butts and cleaning up cigarette waste costs 130 million pounds a year.

But the ministry here has not even tallied the figures. A ministry official said, "It's difficult to estimate the cost of disposing of cigarette butts alone because they are collected and disposed of with other kinds of waste."

Some countries try to reduce cigarette waste on the principle of "extended producer responsibility" which holds the manufacturer to account for the entire life cycle of their products.

The EU approached the issue as part of plastic pollution. When it came up with a directive to curb single-use plastics in May 2019, it included cigarettes and cigars with plastic filters because they pollute the ocean.

France has passed an anti-waste law to protect the environment which includes cigarettes and launched an agency that holds tobacco producers accountable for offenses.

The U.S. state of California has proposed a bill that will make manufacturers collect unrecyclable items so that tobacco producers must take responsibility for not only cigarettes but also single-use vapes.

But in Korea, cigarette manufacturers are happy just to sell their products. Sewers and drains were clogged by discarded cigarette butts during heavy downpours in August last year, flooding many areas in Seoul.

Questions:
1. Illustrate the annual cigarette consumption in South Korea.
2. Compare this to the global cigarette consumption.
3. How is "extended producer responsibility" approach utilized in dealing with cigarette garbage?
4. How environmentally problematic are cigarette butts in South Korea?
5. In your opinion, what will be an effective way of handling discarded cigarette trash?

 
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