Irish tobacco companies contribute €250,000 for street cleaning

Ten tobacco companies have recently made a payment of €250,000 to help with street cleaning. This amount is part of a new litter tax aimed at reducing cigarette waste in the environment. It was collected under the Tobacco Product Plastic Filter Group (TPPFG) for the year 2023. The payment of €248,264 represents only 0.2% of the total cost for cleaning litter, which local authorities estimated to be €111 million for 2023. In 2021, the cleaning cost was about €85 million. Officials say cigarette butts make up around half of the litter found in public spaces. However, by weight, cigarette filters are less than 1% of the total litter. The amount of money companies will pay in 2024 will depend on how many products they sell. The TPPFG consists of major firms, including Imperial Brands and Philip Morris. Those companies must contribute to street cleaning costs until they create more environmentally friendly products. The Department of the Environment mentioned that no decisions have been made about how the collected funds will be used, except that they will be set aside for future litter cleanup efforts. Currently, there are no signs of the tobacco industry switching to non-plastic alternatives for their filters. A recent report showed that tobacco filters made up 42.6% of all litter items counted, but their weight is very light. Therefore, in terms of weight, tobacco filters contribute to less than 1% of total litter. The department believes their cost calculations for litter clean-up are fair and appropriate for all products included under the single-use plastics regulations.