Every year, the world generates over two billion tonnes of municipal solid waste. That number is expected to double to nearly four billion by 2050. Global waste production is currently at unsustainable levels, driven in part by the cultural desire to buy more, even when people don’t necessarily need to. 

Once goods are used or lose their appeal, they are thrown away simply because it’s convenient. But this way of thinking is not innate to humans. In fact, it’s a relatively new phenomenon that has been ingrained in human behaviour through factors like the invention of plastic and cultural conditioning.

The rise of plastics and consumerism

Modern plastic has its origins in 1907, when inventor Leo Baekeland created Bakelite. Dubbed “the material of a thousand uses,” Bakelite was a synthetic material that was durable, heat-resistant and could be shaped into nearly anything. Over time, more plastics would be invented. Plastic manufacturing and usage skyrocketed among the Allied forces during the Second World War, as it became a useful substitute for scarce natural resources that had to be preserved. Military equipment, attire and vehicles all used plastic in some form. 

After the war, plastic was mass-produced and entered civilian life, including in the manufacturing of cars, goods and furniture. The seemingly endless possibilities of plastic excited people, and many believed that a future abundant with material goods was on the horizon. This was a turning point, as plastic helped drive the cultural transformation that turned people into consumers.

However, the notion of people being “consumers” wasn’t entirely due to the rise of plastic. People have always needed to consume resources for their survival. Growing food, making clothes and building infrastructure necessitated consumption. But originally, people were much more frugal and thoughtful with their belongings, largely out of necessity. 

The inclination to buy more than needed began to materialize in late eighteenth-century Britain and nineteenth-century United States, when there was an increase in the commercialization of goods. Shops and department stores were expanding in quantity and physical size, and they openly displayed products for public viewing. While many of these stores primarily served a middle- to upper-class demographic, they cultivated feelings of envy and desire among people. There were growing perceptions that consumption and newness were means of achieving happiness. These ideas soon aligned with corporate strategies to foster more consumption.

As manufacturing continued to grow into the twentieth century, concerns arose that insufficient consumer demand would stall profits and lead to an overproduction crisis. Corporations realized they needed to stimulate consumption artificially. To address this, they turned to advertisement campaigns that began encouraging people to be less frugal and to put greater value on material goods. At the same time, products were being intentionally designed with shorter lifespans, a strategy known today as planned obsolescence. 

After the Second World War, consumerism took off in the West. People were eager to spend money. Plastic democratized material goods, making them cheaper and more accessible. Radios and television became widespread, allowing advertisements to reach people directly in their homes. 

There was a cultural shift: people were more materialistic and wasteful. This was highlighted in a 1955 LIFE Magazine article titled “Throwaway Living” and encapsulates the life people know today: the convenience of throwing away things after one use. While plastic and consumerism changed the way people lived, they also left behind a wasteful legacy.
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The impact today

These shifts and events laid the foundation for many of today’s problems. Excitement about plastic began to wane when plastic waste started to surface in the oceans around the 1960s. This raised alarms about the possible environmental impacts. 

By the 1980s, plastic was widely considered a major issue for the marine environment, just a few decades after it was introduced. Steps were soon taken to mitigate this problem, including the push for municipalities to start collecting and processing recyclable materials. 

But, despite these efforts, most plastics continue to enter landfills or the environment. Today, over 400 million tonnes of plastic are produced each year, with about half of that being intended for single-use applications.

Consumerism continues to expand as well. With today’s technology, it has never been easier to sell or purchase something. People are inundated with advertisements on their devices. Social media and influencers are constantly raving about new trends and products. Online shopping makes getting products easy. Much like the decline in product quality decades ago, many of today’s goods are produced without durability and craftsmanship in mind. 

This is particularly evident in fast fashion, where clothes are cheaply produced with the intention of falling apart quickly or going out of style after a season or two. The unsustainable patterns of the past have not only persisted but been amplified, becoming the ideal business model.

Summary

The advent of plastic and the rise of consumerism have profoundly shaped society today. Convenience and abundance have led many people to value the idea of having more goods and replacing them as quickly as possible. But this puts strain on the planet’s already overstretched resources. And as global waste production continues to rise and the environment becomes more polluted, governments, corporations and individuals all share a responsibility in tackling this problem. 

By rethinking our approach to consumption, we can ensure that generations today and in the future live in a cleaner, more sustainable world.

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In a world overflowing with pollutants and litter, one form of waste stands out: cigarette butts. Cigarette butts — the remains of smoked cigarettes — can be found in just about any public space, like parks, sidewalks, roads and beaches. Cigarettes are a widely consumed item worldwide, and they are rarely disposed of properly. As such, cigarette butts are a major environmental pollutant, despite their small size.

This article explores the composition of cigarettes, the environmental impact of cigarette butts and initiatives aimed at reducing the amount of waste generated by these products.

Background on cigarettes

Modern cigarettes are primarily composed of dried leaves from the tobacco plant and chemical additives that may add flavour or enhance the smoking experience. They also contain a plastic filter and a thin piece of paper that wraps everything into a cylinder. 

Filters were introduced in the 1860s to keep loose tobacco out of smokers’ mouths. Beginning around the mid-twentieth century, it was discovered that cigarettes contained carcinogens; there are thousands of chemicals and toxins present in cigarette smoke, including nicotine, cadmium, tar, carbon monoxide and formaldehyde. Filters were then advertised as a means of protecting smokers’ health, as they would supposedly reduce the amount of chemicals inhaled. 

However, tobacco companies realized that trying to selectively filter out harmful chemicals was impossible. Furthermore, filters made the smoke easier to inhale and encouraged deeper, more frequent draws. 

Nonetheless, production of these filters, commonly made of a plastic called cellulose acetate, significantly increased after that. Cigarettes are not just harmful to smokers; they have a major impact on the environment.

Environmental impact

About 1.25 billion adults use tobacco products. This demand explains the nearly 6 trillion cigarettes that are sold annually worldwide. However, many people may not know how to properly dispose of them. Some places may also lack adequate infrastructure to accommodate this type of waste. 

Annually, about 4.5 trillion butts are littered — making it the most littered item in the world. In Toronto, cigarette butts are one of the most common forms of litter found on the city’s streets. Overall, tobacco products make up between 25 to 40 per cent of all litter globally. 

The manufacturing process of cigarettes is quite harmful to the environment. Tobacco farms tend to require a lot of land, which may lead to deforestation. According to the World Health Organization, around 3.5 million hectares of land are cleared annually to accommodate these farms. Hundreds of millions of trees are chopped down, and billions of litres of water are used to create cigarettes. 

Equally harmful is the improper disposal of cigarette butts. The plastic filters in cigarette butts are not biodegradable and also tend to contain leftover toxic chemicals. Over time, after cigarette butts have been discarded, the plastics and chemicals in them can enter into and pollute bodies of water, soil and other parts of the environment. This ultimately harms humans and wildlife.

Solutions

Banning plastic filters would be a major step towards minimizing the waste and environmental impact of cigarette butts. As mentioned, production of these filters greatly increased in the wake of claims that they supposedly decrease the risk of certain health-related effects of smoking. However, filters aren’t effective in improving health. As such, banning them would prevent unnecessary waste from being produced and entering the environment. 

Another approach to reducing waste is recycling the plastic filters and adding them to asphalt mixtures to create stronger roads. After the filters are cleaned and undergo a processing phase that turns them into small pellets, they can be combined with asphalt. The cellulose fibres found in cigarette filters can reinforce asphalt and make it more flexible. Overall, the asphalt becomes better at withstanding heavy traffic and temperature changes. 

This idea has seen real-world application. In Slovakia’s capital, Bratislava, the city’s waste management firm began placing containers for cigarette butts at public events in 2024, with the intention of utilizing the filters in road construction. In fact, the Slovakian city of Žiar nad Hronom already has a road made with discarded cigarette filters, proving the viability of this approach.

Efforts are also being made in Toronto to cut down on cigarette waste. In 2023, the St. Lawrence Neighbourhood Association Waste Reduction Group (SLNA-WRG) began a partnership with TerraCycle Canada, a recycling company, seeking to address the city’s most widespread form of litter. So far, this initiative has led to the installation of 44 cigarette butt collection containers throughout the St. Lawrence neighbourhood. 

Over half a million cigarette butts have been collected and sent to TerraCycle for recycling. This involves separating cigarette waste by material type, composting the ashes and tobacco, and converting leftover materials into their raw form to create new products. The SLNA-WRG hopes to create a neighbourhood sculpture or bench made from recycled cigarette filter plastics and to promote change in behaviours and attitudes towards this topic.

Summary

Individual cigarette butts may appear insignificant, but collectively, their impact on the environment cannot be overlooked. As the world’s most littered item, we have a responsibility to continue finding methods of disposing of and repurposing the contents of cigarette butts. The efforts in Slovakia and Toronto offer insight into how this can be done.

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​On October 8 and 9, 2025,  the St. Lawrence Neighbourhood Association Waste Reduction Group held its 14th REmarket event, which included the ever-popular FreeMarket, where you can donate things, shop for free and find useful items for your home and family.

Free markets like ours are sprouting up across communities as we are all learning to be more conscious of what we buy and dispose of. It’s great to find new homes for things that might otherwise be thrown away.

When we’re exchanging things for free – giving, receiving and reciprocating – we’re participating in the gift economy. The goals and values of a gift economy are to share more, reduce our reliance on buying new things, reduce waste and build trusting relationships in our communities.

We definitely need the useful donations we get from our neighbours to make Freemarket a success. But we want you to know that during times outside of REmarket events, you can still enjoy the gift economy spirit and meet some nice people by joining an online swap or “for free” group. In these groups, you can post items to give away. You might also find something you need that is being gifted by someone in your community!

While Toronto is home to several free exchange groups you can choose from, Buy Nothing Canada groups have well-established guidelines and work within specific geographical boundaries. The guidelines and local exchanges make it easier to meet up, but they are also intended to foster a sense of community, reciprocity and social trust.

In addition to meeting some nice people, giving stuff away has additional benefits, outlined below. 

1. A say over where your item goes
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You don’t need it and don’t use it, but it has some monetary or sentimental value. Knowing your item can live on and bring joy to a neighbour who can use it may be the little push you need to let it go. The feeling may be more rewarding than any money you could have received by selling it!

2. Get ‘er done

If you haven’t gotten around to selling it, don’t know what it’s worth or don’t know if the process is worth the trouble, try letting it go for free! You’ll experience the relief of getting the decision checked off your to-do list.
Give a second life to weird stuff you might otherwise throw out.

Yarn scraps? Empty jars? Wired earbuds? A scented candle you used once, but it made you sneeze? Try giving it away before you give it up for landfill.

3. Reflecting on consumption

Hanging on to things we don’t need or trying to resell them can be strategies we use to reduce buyer’s remorse. Giving things away can help us reflect on our buying habits in the future. REfusing to buy in the first place is the best waste reduction strategy in our toolkit!
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If you’ve got things to share and just can’t wait until the next REmarket, try your local Buy Nothing Canada group or other swap groups. Meet some folks in your community and enjoy the good feels!

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These days, we’re paying more attention to supply chains and sustainability in fashion. And
there are exciting initiatives afoot to encourage sustainable fashion and hold suppliers
accountable for how their products are made and disposed of.

But here’s an angle that’s often overlooked when we talk about eco-conscious fashion:
costume jewellery. That’s the stuff you buy that is not made of precious metals or gems.
If you are refreshing or downsizing your wardrobe, you might forget about your jewellery
entirely, or if you’re like me, just say, “Ugh. It’s so small that I don’t know what to DO with it.
Maybe later.”

Well, buckle up. It’s time to use our 5REs to talk through those oh-so-easy to acquire and
accumulate earrings, necklaces, bracelets and rings that end up being oh-so-difficult to get rid
of.

REfuse

Refusing is all about preventing materials from entering waste streams in the first place. If
you “refuse” to purchase or accept an item, you won’t have to worry about the rest of the
5Rs.

For costume jewellery, you can REfuse by considering before you buy:

• Will you use it more than once?
• Do you have a specific plan to incorporate it into your wardrobe?
• Are you being seduced into buying more than you need by BOGO or a sale

You can also REfuse by rejecting jewellery made from nickel, lead and certain alloys
(composite metals) that are toxic for you and for the environment! Jewellery made of these
materials quickly tarnishes and can’t be cleaned. They also tend to break easily, leading to
them being thrown out more quickly.

REduce

You can REduce the quantity of your jewellery by buying less often and focusing on versatile,
well-made pieces that work with multiple outfits. Rather than buying a lot of cheap, low-quality
jewellery, you should buy fewer pieces that are instead made of safe, high-quality metals and
alloys like gold, sterling silver, stainless steel, titanium and platinum.

Favour natural materials
like wood, leather and precious or semi-precious stones over plastic and rhinestone. Quality
jewellery can be repaired and cleaned, ensuring that you can enjoy it for many years.

REuse

Love the jewellery you have! You’ll be less tempted to buy new costume jewellery if you clean
what you already have and keep it in a visible and easily accessible place, so you remember to
use and enjoy what you already own.

When donating jewellery for REuse by others, it is less likely to end up in landfill if it is in
clean, ready-to-wear condition:

• Ensure clasps are not broken and earrings have their backs.
• Untangle necklaces.
• Place jewellery in a small box so that it will be easy to find for donation sorters to review
and organize

And did you know you can repair your jewellery at a repair café? Check out Repair
Café Toronto and watch for upcoming Repair Cafés at REmarket!

REpurpose

Do you have broken costume jewellery that’s not worth fixing? Me too. Fortunately, at least
some of our old costume jewellery can be upcycled.

By getting broken jewellery into the hands of dedicated re-users and jewellery artisans, you
are diverting at least some of it from landfill and potentially extending its life.
If you are a crafter, consider your own upcycling projects too!
REcycle.

Well, we’ve saved the worst for last. The combination of mixed (and sometimes toxic) metals,
glues and plastics used to make costume jewellery cannot easily be recycled. So, if your
costume jewellery is damaged, or you can’t find a way to repurpose it, its next home is the
garbage.

Sustainable jewellery buy and swap tips:

• If you don’t know the composition of the jewellery you are buying, ask!
• Shop local businesses and artisans that prioritize eco-friendly materials and practices.
• Favour quality metals, natural materials and upcycled jewellery.
• Buy less often and buy quality.