I have found many cigarette butts lying on the ground, especially in beaches, parks, parking lots, sidewalks and other areas.  So I decided to write a report in the Gulf News.

I have noticed many people after smoking just throw these cigarettes on the ground. These cigarette butts are not disposed well. These filters are non-biodegradable, and while Sun rays will break them up, the toxic material of these butts never disappears.

Most of these finally end up in various water bodies such as lakes and rivers. By mistake fishes and other water animals eat these butts resulting in their death. Thus it kills various species and destroys the ecological balance. The remaining butts left on the ground will approximately take 25-26 years to decompose. During dry seasons cigarette butts can even cause major fire that is even harmful for the environment. These affect the environment the most, resulting into air, water and land pollution.

The Municipality on reading my report took strict actions against this practice of throwing cigarette butts on the ground.