The number of Californians smoking has decreased in recent decades, but plastic cigarette butts still litter roadways and beaches.
The Santa Cruz County Board of Supervisors recently passed a ban addressing that pollution. The ordinance prohibits the sale of tobacco products with non-consumable filters, most of which contain plastic that doesn’t biodegrade and leaches toxins into the environment.
Dozens of people gave public comments, mostly in support. Local environmentalist Taylor Lane arranged seven surfboards made from tens of thousands of cigarette butts around the back of the chambers. He says the community spends millions of dollars cleaning up the waste.
“It has to stop somewhere,” said Lane.
The board unanimously voted to pass the ban with the condition that at least two of the four cities within the county pass similar laws.
Save Our Shores executive director Katie Thompson called the decision historic.
“Between 2013 and 2023, Save Our Shores volunteers collected nearly half a million cigarette butts on our beaches, rivers and public areas surrounding the Monterey Bay region,” she said.
But some retailers worried the ban would hurt business. Manraj Bhangu says the community will lose money and still deal with pollution.
“At the end of the day, people will buy these filtered cigarettes across county lines,” he said.
But third district supervisor Justin Cummings believes the market will adjust.
“I don't think that it'll have as big of an impact as they anticipate, but I definitely understand their concerns,” said Cummings.
Sales of tobacco products without filters would be unaffected, and the ban will go into effect in January 2027, at the earliest.
