Fight against the uncivilized, the beaches of Sardinia cleaned up by almost 6 thousand cigarette butts

Almost 23 kilos of cigarette butts , about 6,000 filters , collected from the beaches of Sardinia between Oristano, the Cagliari area, Castelsardo, Stintino and La Maddalena.

It is the important result of the initiative launched over the weekend also on the island and carried out in the context of World Environment Day , established by the United Nations Environment Program (UNEP) in 1972 to raise awareness on the issues of protection and of earth conservation.

The volunteers of Plastic Free Onlus, the voluntary organization engaged since 2019 in combating plastic pollution, over the weekend collected over 120 thousand cigarette butts from the ground throughout Italy, equal to more than 490 kilograms, in 100 appointments in Village.

«I thank the thousands of volunteers who have worked in a titanic but, at the same time, concrete undertaking for the benefit of the environment and of our beloved country - declares Luca De Gaetano , president of Plastic Free Onlus - In Italy it is estimated that, every year 14 billion cigarette butts are released into the environment, each containing 4,000 chemicals, many of them toxic and carcinogenic, including arsenic, formaldehyde, ammonia, hydrogen cyanide and nicotine. We are talking about toxins that seriously damage marine ecosystems, often ending up in the food chain".

Statistics indicate that about 65% of smokers do not properly dispose of cigarette butts , which then end up in the sea becoming the cause of toxin poisoning or suffocation for birds, fish, turtles and other marine animals, with negative impacts also on the food chain.

«This theme is very close to our hearts and, in fact, it was included in the Plastic Free motion that we presented to the Chamber of Deputies on 30 May - concludes the president Luca De Gaetano - We ask for the creation of smoking areas for respect for the environment and people, resources for organizations and associations to counter the phenomenon with checks and awareness as well as the increase in fines for transgressors".

(Unioneonline/vl)