In the article “A Little Robot Cleans the Beach, One Butt at a Time” (2021), Gonderman explains that as cigarette litters on beaches are on a rise, BeachBot (BB)which was created by the co-founders of Techtics, Edwin Bos, and Martijn Lukaart helps to counter this beach pollution issue. Using its Artificial Intelligence (AI) technology, BB is able to identify cigarette butts from the ground and collect them easily. The author also described how BB could be playing an important role in protecting coastal environments from cigarette butts (CB). The use of BeachBot to clear cigarettes litter on beaches is important as cigarettes on beaches can cause harm to marine life, depletion of oxygen in seawater, and a threat to humanity.
With so much cigarette litter by the shores, one of the vital impacts of beach pollution would be causing harm to wild marine life. As cigarette butts are being washed into the ocean, toxic chemicals would be released into the sea, sea creatures might mistreat them as food and ingest them. The article “Abundance and Distribution of Cigarette Butts on Coastal Environments” (2021) by Francisco Asensio-Montesinos studied the causes and impacts of cigarette butts across many coastal areas in southern Spain. In his findings, he mentioned that out of the 5000 compounds present in cigarettes, at least 150 were considered to be very harmful to the aquatic environment. In another article” Variation in, and causes of, Toxicity of Cigarette Butts to a Cladoceran and Microtox” (2006) a laboratory study by Micevska et al. found that CB are extremely poisonous to “Cladocera organism” and that the main cause of toxicity was ascribed to the toxic substance that can be found in cigarettes, “nicotine and ethylphenol”. This clearly shows that having cigarette litter by the sea not only pollutes the sea but could also cause a great threat to marine wildlife.
Another critical impact that beach pollution has caused would be a threat to human health. The beach is a place where families would gather for a picnic outing or an outdoor beach activity. Babies or toddlers who have not yet been educated on personal hygiene might ingest the cigarette butts that have been lying on the sand. In the article “Cigarette and Nicotine Chewing Gum Toxicity in Children” (1988) by Smolinske, he mentioned that reports of accidental consumption of cigarette butts are quite common among children, young children might be intoxicated causing vomiting and nausea if consumed at a small dose. Bigger doses might also implicate neurological symptoms as well. This clearly shows that having cigarette litter by the sea possess a great threat to humans, especially young infants or toddlers.
Although cigarette butts’ litters mainly contribute to ocean pollution. I believe that plastic plays a big role in the pollution as well. Plastic is a material that we have been using in our daily lives, it comes as no surprise to the huge amount of plastics that would have been disposed of every day. Furthermore, the beach is a place where many families would utilize plastics for their outing, beach users might litter just because of their indolence. In an article “Marine Plastic Pollution'' (2021) by the International Union for Conservation of Nature, it was reported that, “At least 14 million tons of plastic end up in the ocean every year, and plastic makes up 80% of all marine debris found from surface waters to deep-sea sediments”. This has caused “Marine species to ingest or are entangled by plastic debris” which results to serious injuries or even death.
In conclusion, not only do cigarette butts play a role in contributing to marine pollution, but plastic pollution in oceans was also another contributing factor. In order to stop marine pollution, the creators should program BB to pick up plastic trash in addition to cigarette butts, I believe with this further enhancement, BB would thrive in this industry and create a better environment for not only marine creatures but also for us humans.
Elli et al.,(2011). Toxicity of cigarette butts, and their chemical components, to marine and freshwater fish. https://tobaccocontrol.bmj.com/content/20/Suppl_1/i25
International Union for Conservation of Nature. (2021, November). Marine Plastic Pollution. https://www.iucn.org/resources/issues-briefs/marine-plastic-pollution
Francisco, Milagrosa, Maria & Giorgo, (2021). Abundance and Distribution of Cigarette Butts on Coastal Environments: Examples from Southern Spain. https://www.mdpi.com/2077-1312/9/2/129
Micevska et al. (2005). Variation in, and Causes of, Toxicity of Cigarette Butts to a Cladoceran and Microtox. https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s00244-004-0132-y#citeas
S C Smolinske et al. (1988). Cigarette and nicotine chewing gum toxicity in children
https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/3346035/
Elsevier Science, (1970). Marine Pollution Bulletin
https://www.sciencedirect.com.singaporetech.remotexs.co/journal/marine-pollution-bulletin
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