Be kind to our environment: dispose of cigarettes correctly
Pocket ashtrays for smokers at UEFA EURO 2024 in StuttgartWe place great emphasis on sustainability at UEFA EURO 2024 and want the European Football Championship to be environmentally friendly, easy on the climate, and healthy for everyone. That's why, for example, all ten EURO stadiums are smoke-free and we as the host city are calling on you to use tobacco products responsibly. To help you, we are distributing recycled pocket ashtrays in the fan zones. They're practical, smart and sustainable: with us, smokers can dispose of their cigarette butts in an environmentally friendly way.
It's no secret that smoking is bad for your own health and that of others. What's less well known are the effects of smoking on our environment.
- According to the World Health Organisation (WHO), carelessly discarded cigarette butts account for up to 40 per cent of all litter found globally – both on land and in the sea.
- According to estimates, this amounts to up to 4.5 trillion cigarette butts per year with a total weight of up to 680,000 tonnes.
- Around two-thirds of all cigarettes smoked simply end up on the ground – on
pavements, streets, lawns, in parks or on the beach.
This is exactly where we as Host City Stuttgart during UEFA EURO 2024 are targeting our campaign.
We are calling on all of you: avoid environmental pollution from cigarette butts!
It's this easy:
- We are distributing recycled pocket ashtrays in the fan zones. Smokers can use these to collect their cigarette butts and then ideally dispose of them at a TobaCycle collection point.
- There will be outdoor ashtrays at various locations, the contents of which will be collected and recycled by the TobaCycle association. You can empty your pocket ashtrays there.
- If you cannot find one of these points close by, you can simply dispose of the cigarette butts in the residual waste.
- You can of course keep the pocket ashtray and use it to ensure that no butts end up on the ground in the future.
Let's tackle the problem together.
TobaCycle supports not only companies, but also cities and local authorities, events, festivals and separate collections in the private sector. Mario Merella, founder of the TobaCycle association, emphasises, "We don't want to patronise anyone. Whether you smoke or not is your personal decision. Instead, we get to work where we can really make a difference. Many people do not realise what a carelessly discarded cigarette can do. So we ask you not to throw cigarette butts into the environment, but to donate them to us." Host City Stuttgart would like to support this mission. (Quote: https://goodnews-for-you.de/tobacycle-recycelt-zigarettenstummel/)
Setting an example
The WHO is now calling for cigarettes to be treated like disposable plastic. According to WHO estimates, the cost of disposing of discarded tobacco products in Germany alone amounts to almost 200 million euros every year. This is because conventional cigarette filters are made from cellulose acetate. This plastic breaks down into microplastics and pollutes the environment and especially the oceans for many years.
Which makes the whole thing even more problematic: the discarded butts contain a high concentration of toxic substances. Tobacco products contain more than 7,000 toxic substances that mainly accumulate in the filters. As soon as the used filters come into contact with water, the substances dissolve and are released into the environment. The neurotoxin nicotine dissolves particularly quickly: after just half an hour in a puddle, about half of the nicotine has already dissolved in the water. A single cigarette butt can thus contaminate 1,000 litres of water with nicotine. And in doing so, it poisons the habitat of small aquatic animals.
And did you know that cigarette butts in parks, for example, are also a danger to children? The Poison Control Center in Berlin deals with over 250 cases of children being poisoned due to swallowing cigarette parts every year. After pharmaceuticals, nicotine is the most common cause of poisoning in infants. Let's set an example together during UEFA EURO 2024.
Please use tobacco products responsibly
We also call on you to minimise tobacco consumption and handle the products responsibly in order to protect those around you – especially children – and the environment. Please do not smoke in the crowd, especially next to children. And please throw the butts in the ashtrays provided or dispose of them properly in the pocket ashtray.
Or: start to try to stop
If you need help to quit smoking, the following links and addresses will help you:
- Online programme to quit: Information and tips on the topic of smoking/non-smoking with forum, chat, supportive daily e-mail and personal guides to help you go smoke-free at: www.rauchfrei-info.de
- Counselling by telephone to quit smoking: Freephone number 0 800 8 31 31 31 – available Mondays to Thursdays from 10 a.m. to 10 p.m. and Fridays to Sundays from
10 a.m. to 6 p.m. - Information brochures: "Yes, I'm going smoke-free" or "Smoke-free during pregnancy and after giving birth": the brochures can be ordered free of charge or downloaded directly at: https://shop.bzga.de
START pack to quit smoking: "Yes, I'm going smoke-free" brochure, a "Calendar for the first 100 days", a stress ball and other helpful free materials. Order by e-mail: order(at)bzga.de
