August 4, 2019 - Murter is the latest in the fight to make Croatia's coast free of cigarette pollution. 

Earlier this week, TCN reported that the City of Hvar installed biodegradable cardboard ashtrays to reduce the environmental impact of littered cigarette butts on the beaches thanks to a solution by the Volim Vlašići Association from the island of Pag. Recall, the ashtrays are disposable or reusable, made of paper (cardboard), are biodegradable, and have assembly instructions. 

Today, we bring you another example of a Croatian town joining the fight against cigarette pollution, reports Dalmacija Danas.

Namely, you might have heard of “Smoke-free coast”, the name of a campaign that delighted locals and tourists in Estepona, a small coastal town in southern Spain. The campaign is straightforward: bring a glass full of cigarette butts to any stall on the beach and in return, enjoy a cold beer or refreshing drink. 

The example of Estepona has caught on in Croatia, and the same practice has been adopted by a camp in Murter, who informed locals and tourists in the area via Facebook that they are joining the smoke-free action. 

“Following the example of a story from a place in southern Spain where you get a drink in return for a glass full of cigarette butts, we decided to apply the same practice. Camp Slanica, in cooperation with the Lostura beach bar, joins the action - anyone who brings a glass/bottle/bag full of cigarette butts to the beach bar Lostura, gets in return free juice or beer! Since the Murter-Kornati Tourist Board has installed ashtrays on all beaches in Murter at the beginning of summer, you can also freely use cans that serve as ashtrays and fill them with cigarette butts that you find on your favorite beach in Murter. With this action, we all contribute together to a cleaner environment, and at the same time we participate in the prevention of fires, since cigarette butts are a common cause of fires. Hurry up for the action and refresh yourself for the reward - collect, replace, cheers!,” said Camp Slanica on facebook.

NBC News reported that cigarette butts are the single most collected item on the world’s beaches, with more than 60 million collected over 32 years. Not surprisingly, this number amounts to “about one-third of all collected items and more than plastic wrappers, containers, bottle caps, eating utensils and bottles, combined”, NBC said.

Much like plastic, cigarette butts take years to disappear from the environment and the chemicals they are composed of are harmful to everything from plants and wildlife to children. 

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