Cigarette Butt Litter: ideas for science projects

Over the years, many students have written to Clean Virginia Waterways about their plans to do a science project that examines an aspect of cigarette litter. Here are some of the projects students have done:

• Cigarette litter in our community (many topics can be explored: quantity of cigarette litter; sources; areas more likely to accumulate litter; cost of cleanup by schools, parks, and businesses; impact on habitat; fires caused by littered cigarette butts)
• Effecting changes in littering behavior by smokers (putting up signs, tent cards on tables, etc. Measuring litter before and after)
• Effects of cigarette butt litter on plants (peas and other seeds have been used)
• Effects of cigarette butt litter on animals (Daphnia and small fish have been used. Note: Some science fairs do not allow experimentation on animals. Check with your teacher before attempting an experiment like this.)
  • ABOUT DAPHNIA: Daphnia are small crustaceans, order Cladocera. Many scientific supply companies sell Daphnia (also called water fleas). Some of these companies are: Carolina Scientific Supply Company. Web site: http://www.carolina.com/ and Ward's Natural Science at http://wardsci.com

    Daphnia magna are a large species of Daphnia commonly used in aquatic effluent toxicity testing. D. magna eat only algae, and can be successfully cultured using powdered Spirulina as a food source. Be sure to keep your Daphnia cool, as they will die if their water becomes too warm (over 72° F). Warm water is the quickest way to lose all your animals.

Impacts of cigarette litter (Fires, ingestion by animals and children, cost of cleanup, toxins, etc.)

Q&A about cigarette litter

How can we prevent cigarette litter?

Click here for newspaper articles about how communities are trying to fight cigarette litter.

Read all about cigarette butt litter! Click here to read an article that was published in the August 2000 issue of the American Littoral Society journal, The Underwater Naturalist. This article, by CVW's Executive Director Kathleen M. Register, includes background data, such as the fact that 2.1 billion pounds of cigarette filters were discarded worldwide in 1998, along with results of her research showing that leached chemicals from cigarette filters are deadly to the water flea Daphnia magna, a small crustacean at the lower end of, but important to the aquatic food chain.

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Compiled by Clean Virginia Waterways, Longwood University, Farmville, VA 23909
434-395-2602 Fax: 434-395-2825 Email: cleanva@longwood.edu