Over half a million cigarette butts picked up, call for filter ban increases

International cigarette butt clean-up calls for ban on plastic cigarette filters On Saturday 1 July, during the fifth edition of Plastic PeukMeuk, thousands of volunteers in the Netherlands and abroad collected over 600,000 cigarette butts. The campaign by the Plastic Peuken Collectief (Plastic Cigarette Butt Collective) is about more than just cleaning up. The participants are calling for an international ban on plastic cigarette filters. Plastic PeukMeuk, the national cigarette butt clean-up day, was the largest to date: in over 70 municipalities in the Netherlands and in more than 13 countries, thousands of people took to the streets. Together, they collected over 600,000 cigarette filters. Research earlier this year, commissioned by State Secretary Heijnen, concluded that a ban on cigarette filters is the only effective measure to get cigarette butts out of the environment. Heijnen promised to seek allies among other member states to get the ban on all single-use cigarette filters onto the European agenda. Impossible to clean up "It is fantastic how many cigarette butts have been cleaned up," says PeukMeuk organiser Bernadette Hakken, "but when you realise that despite all efforts, billions of cigarette butts remain in the environment in the Netherlands, and the quantity of collected butts is thrown back onto the streets next week, you only then realise how big this problem is." More people than ever participated in the annual campaign. "The dissatisfaction with cigarette butt pollution is growing, both in politics and in society. Therefore, support for a ban on cigarette filters is now growing rapidly." 2 out of 3 cigarette butts end up in the environment Around 10 billion cigarettes are sold in the Netherlands every year. It is estimated that two out of three plastic filters are dumped on the ground or in the water. They are small but absolutely not harmless. Almost all cigarette filters are made of cellulose acetate, a plastic that breaks down into polluting microplastics. In addition, a cigarette butt leaks huge amounts of toxic substances that disrupt soil and aquatic life. In terms of numbers, the cigarette filter is the largest form of plastic pollution worldwide. Plastic PeukMeuk worldwide The campaign was first organised in Amsterdam in 2019, and quickly spread across the country. Under the name Plastic Buttsmut, environmental organisations in 13 other countries also participated this year, including Australia, Israel, Argentina, Canada, Portugal and the US. The initiator is the Plastic Peuken Collectief, a partnership of companies, environmental organisations and cigarette butt collectors. The driving force behind the campaign, Bernadette Hakken, also known as Het Peukenmeisje (The Cigarette Butt Girl), has been collecting cigarette filters almost daily for five years: "Now is the time to work together globally towards a ban, because cleaning up is an impossible and unaffordable task. We have seen that again during this Plastic PeukMeuk." 70% reduction in 2026 The Netherlands is ambitious. The objective is to have 70 per cent fewer cigarette filters in the environment in 2026 compared to 2022. Karl Beerenfenger, campaign leader of the Plastic Peuken Collectief: "The Dutch government has acknowledged the problem and also knows that awareness measures regarding litter have barely any effect. And even with 70% fewer cigarette butts in the environment, more than a billion cigarette filters still end up on the streets in the Netherlands alone every year. Banning the product, preferably in an international context, is a logical step." Research by CE Delft earlier this year showed that such a ban is the only effective measure. No health benefits The cigarette filter was introduced in the 1950s following growing concerns about serious illnesses resulting from smoking. The filter was supposed to partially block harmful substances during smoking. Meanwhile, it has been scientifically proven that smoking with a filter is more harmful to health than smoking without a filter. This was recently underlined by both the Dutch government and the Belgian Superior Health Council. "The tobacco industry has falsely led us to believe for decades that smoking with a filter is less harmful. The opposite has been proven. The filter is merely a marketing tool to sell more cigarettes," says Hakken. "Add to that the massive pile of plastic pollution and you cannot help but conclude that it is time we stopped using that filter." A European ban on cigarette filters In 2021, the European Single-Use Plastics Directive came into force in the Netherlands to counter pollution from the ten most common plastic litter items. Plastic straws, cutlery and cotton buds were banned, and disposable cups and food packaging may no longer be provided free of charge. For plastic cigarette filters, only a marking on the packets was made mandatory and tobacco manufacturers must pay for the clean-up costs. "Unfortunately, both measures are not sufficient to effectively combat cigarette butts in litter. Europe has missed a huge opportunity to put cigarette filters on the ban list

International cigarette butt clean-up calls for a ban on plastic cigarette filters

On Saturday 1 July, during the fifth edition of Plastic PeukMeuk, thousands of volunteers in the Netherlands and abroad collected over 600,000 cigarette butts. The campaign by the Plastic Peuken Collectief is about more than just cleaning up. The participants are calling for an international ban on plastic cigarette filters.

Plastic PeukMeuk, the national cigarette butt clean-up day, was the largest to date: in over 70 municipalities in the Netherlands and in more than 13 countries, thousands of people took to the streets. Together, they collected over 600,000 cigarette filters. Research earlier this year, commissioned by State Secretary Heijnen, concluded that a ban on cigarette filters is the only effective measure to get cigarette butts out of the environment. Heijnen promised to seek allies among other member states to get the ban on all single-use cigarette filters onto the European agenda.

Impossible to clean up

“It is fantastic how many cigarette butts have been cleaned up,” says PeukMeuk organiser Bernadette Hakken, “but when you realise that despite all efforts in the Netherlands, billions of cigarette butts remain in the environment, and the quantity of collected butts is thrown back onto the streets next week, you only then realise how big this problem is.” More people than ever participated in the annual campaign. “The dissatisfaction with cigarette butt pollution is growing, both in politics and in society. Therefore, support for a ban on cigarette filters is now growing rapidly.”

2 out of 3 cigarette butts end up in the environment

In the Netherlands, around 10 billion cigarettes are sold every year. It is estimated that two out of three plastic filters are dumped on the ground or in the water. They are small but absolutely not harmless. Almost all cigarette filters are made of cellulose acetate, a plastic that breaks down into polluting microplastics. In addition, a cigarette butt leaks huge amounts of toxic substances that disrupt soil and aquatic life. In terms of numbers, the cigarette filter is the largest form of plastic pollution worldwide.

Plastic PeukMeuk worldwide

The campaign was first organised in Amsterdam in 2019, and quickly spread across the country. Under the name Plastic Buttsmut, environmental organisations in 13 other countries also participated this year, including Australia, Israel, Argentina, Canada, Portugal and the US. The initiator is the Plastic Peuken Collectief, a partnership of companies, environmental organisations and cigarette butt collectors. The driving force behind the campaign, Bernadette Hakken, also known as Het Peukenmeisje, has been collecting cigarette filters almost daily for five years: “Now is the time to work together globally towards a ban, because cleaning up is an impossible and unaffordable task. We have seen that again during this Plastic PeukMeuk.”

70% reduction in 2026

The Netherlands is ambitious. The objective is to have 70 per cent fewer cigarette filters in the environment in 2026 compared to 2022. Karl Beerenfenger, campaign leader of the Plastic Peuken Collectief: “The Dutch government has acknowledged the problem and also knows that awareness measures regarding litter have barely any effect. And even with 70% fewer cigarette butts in the environment, more than a billion cigarette filters still end up on the streets in the Netherlands alone every year. Banning the product, preferably in an international context, is a logical step.” Research by CE Delft earlier this year showed that such a ban is the only effective measure.

No health benefits

The cigarette filter was introduced in the 1950s following growing concerns about serious illnesses resulting from smoking. The filter was supposed to partially block harmful substances during smoking. Meanwhile, it has been scientifically proven that smoking with a filter is more harmful to health than smoking without a filter. This was recently underlined by both the Dutch government and the Belgian Superior Health Council. “The tobacco industry has falsely led us to believe for decades that smoking with a filter is less harmful. The opposite has been proven. The filter is merely a marketing tool to sell more cigarettes,” says Hakken. “Add to that the massive pile of plastic pollution and you cannot help but conclude that it is time we stopped using that filter.”

A European ban on cigarette filters

In 2021, the European Single-Use Plastics Directive came into force in the Netherlands to counter pollution from the ten most common plastic litter items. Plastic straws, cutlery and cotton buds were banned, and disposable cups and food packaging may no longer be provided free of charge. For plastic cigarette filters, only a marking on the packets was made mandatory and tobacco manufacturers must pay for the clean-up costs. “Unfortunately, both measures are not sufficient to effectively combat cigarette butts in litter. Europe has missed a huge opportunity to put cigarette filters on the ban list,” says Beerenfenger. “The world is now watching developments in the Netherlands. Our government can play a pioneering role in ending decades of misleading smokers and polluting our living environment.”