Pollution

Legambiente: 77 cigarette butts per 100 metres collected on beaches

Issuing the warning is the Beach Litter survey released ahead of National Sea Day

by Letizia Giostra

8 April 2026

4' min read

Translated by AI

Versione italiana

Key points

Cigarette butts
The impact on biodiversity
Rain of ordinances on Italian shores
Legambiente, Zampetti and the appeal to the ministry: 'Start the Epr'
Scheduled appointments

4' min read

Translated by AI

Versione italiana

Over 50,000 cigarette butts collected in 653 transects, with an average of 77 'butts' for every 100 linear metres of beach. But their discovery in the sand still ranks second among the most frequently found materials at the lidos. Plastic wins, taking first place with 61,785 fragments found.

These are the figures released by the Beach Litter survey by Legambiente published in anticipation of National Sea Day - celebrated on 11 April each year - and the historic 'Clean Beaches and Seabeds 2026' mobilisation, scheduled for 10-12 April.

Sanctions do not seem to be a threat to smokers, but more and more municipalities are adhering to anti-smoking ordinances. The greatest risk concerns biodiversity: endangered species include the loggerhead turtle Caretta caretta and the kentish plover.

Sos cigarette butts

Cigarette butts are a cause for alarm on Italian beaches, as emerged in the latest Legambiente monitoring that encompasses 12 years of work, from 2014 to 2026. There are 50,053 "butts" identified, which make up 87% of the 57,099 "smoking waste" such as lighters, cigarette packets or tobacco boxes. Despite the fact that in Italia, the Collegato Ambientale to the 2014 Stability Law provides for fines ranging from EUR 30 to EUR 300, the risk of penalties does not stop smokers.

A problem that does not only affect Italian coasts, but also those in Europe and the rest of the world. According to the Digital Report of the European Environment Agency's Marine LitterWatch study - published on 17 March 2026 and collecting 11 years of data - cigarette butts are the most abundant litter in the Baltic Sea, accounting for 11.6% of all litter. Next comes the Black Sea, while in second place are the beaches of the north-east Atlantic Ocean.

The reason why filters do not disappear is due to their composition, which does not deteriorate easily. According to a recent study by the University of Naples Federico II, we rather have a progressive fragmentation into smaller and smaller particles, even after ten years. In addition, the study showed a second peak in the release of nicotine and other toxic chemicals five years after the time of abandonment, impairing the development of marine organisms.

The impact on biodiversity

Biodiversity could lose out because of smokers. More and more species are at risk, even in Italia. The loggerhead turtle Caretta caretta - the focus of the LIFE Turtenest project - is nesting more and more on Italian coasts due to rising temperatures. Then it is the turn of the kentish plover, a small bird symbol of the dune ecosystem that can be spotted on some coastlines, from the Adriatic to the Ionian, Sardinia and Sicily. This species is also the focus of the new European LIFE Alexandro project, co-financed by the European Union's LIFE Programme.

Rain of ordinances on Italian shores

Bad news for smokers: the no-smoking ordinances on the seafront and the foreshore (and also in Europe) are growing more and more in the municipalities of the Peninsula. The latest is that of Pesaro, which strengthened the regulation enacted in 2019 by expanding its area of application from the first five metres from the foreshore to the entire shoreline.

There are currently 18 registered by Legambiente. The measure affects the municipalities of San Benedetto del Tronto, Rimini, Cesenatico, Ravenna, Latina, Pomezia, Gaeta, Lerici, Arenzano, Loano, Porto Cesareo, Barletta, Arzachena, Alghero, Oristano, Olbia, Tortolì and Quartu Sant'Elena.

The municipality of Rome is also preparing to ban smoking on the beaches of the capital's coastline, including electronic cigarettes. As early as next summer in Ostia, Castel Porziano and Capocotta the clampdown could be triggered.

Legambiente, Zampetti and the appeal to the ministry: 'Start the Epr'

"The problem of waste dispersion in the sea and on the beach," comments Giorgio Zampetti, director general of Legambiente, "remains an emergency in Italia and the rest of the world that needs to be tackled as soon as possible. In order to combat marine and beach litter, it is essential to reduce disposable waste, provide more information and awareness campaigns, and also more controls and effective sanctions for those who throw cigarette butts on the ground, on the beach, or in the sea".

Zampetti then moves on to the full implementation of the EU Directive UAS 2019/904 on single-use plastics. The text obliges producers to cover the costs of waste management, including cleaning, transport and treatment of abandoned butts.

Finally, the director asked the Ministry of the Environment to start the EPR, as it is only based on voluntary membership in Italia.

Scheduled Appointments

Legambiente is getting ready to clean Italy's beaches with a full calendar of events involving both clubs and regions. More than 80 initiatives are scheduled in 16 regions. Volunteers and citizens are called into action to clean up not only the seas, but also rivers and streams.

The activities of Beaches and Seabed will be joined by those planned on the coasts of 12 Mediterranean countries through the 'twinning' with 'Clean-up-theMED', which organises cleaning activities on the coasts of Tunisia, France, Spain, Morocco, Libya, Algeria, Croatia, Albania, Greece, Malta, Turkey, Cyprus and Egypt.

The motto of this year's Clean Beaches and Seabeds 2026 is 'let's get it over with, a cleaner beach is a happier beach'. A sad little face is the chosen emoticon for the campaign.