Roberto Valiente1, Francisco Escobar2, Jamie Pearce3, Usama Bilal4, Manuel Franco5, Xisca Sureda6. 1. Public Health and Epidemiology Research Group, School of Medicine, University of Alcalá, Alcalá de Henares, Madrid, Spain; Department of Geology, Geography and Environmental Sciences, University of Alcalá, Alcalá de Henares, Madrid, Spain. Electronic address: roberto.valiente@uah.es. 2. Department of Geology, Geography and Environmental Sciences, University of Alcalá, Alcalá de Henares, Madrid, Spain. Electronic address: francisco.escobar@uah.es. 3. Centre for Research on Environment, Society and Health, School of GeoSciences, University of Edinburgh, Edinburgh, Scotland, United Kingdom. Electronic address: jamie.pearce@ed.ac.uk. 4. Public Health and Epidemiology Research Group, School of Medicine, University of Alcalá, Alcalá de Henares, Madrid, Spain; Urban Health Collaborative, Drexel Dornsife School of Public Health, Philadelphia, PA, United States. Electronic address: ubilal@drexel.edu. 5. Public Health and Epidemiology Research Group, School of Medicine, University of Alcalá, Alcalá de Henares, Madrid, Spain; Department of Epidemiology, Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health, Baltimore, MD, United States; Department of Epidemiology & Biostatistics, Graduate School of Public Health & Health Policy, City University of New York, New York, NY, 10027, USA. Electronic address: mfranco@uah.es. 6. Public Health and Epidemiology Research Group, School of Medicine, University of Alcalá, Alcalá de Henares, Madrid, Spain; Department of Epidemiology & Biostatistics, Graduate School of Public Health & Health Policy, City University of New York, New York, NY, 10027, USA; Tobacco Control Research Group, Institut d'Investigació Biomèdica de Bellvitge-IDIBELL, l'Hospitalet de Llobregat, Barcelona, Spain; Consortium for Biomedical Research in Respiratory Diseases, CIBER en Enfermedades Respiratorias, CIBERES, Madrid, Spain. Electronic address: francisca.sureda@uah.es.
Abstract
BACKGROUND: Cigarette butts are some of the most common form of litter in the World, causing severe environmental damage. Analysing spatial distribution of cigarette butts in the urban environment may lead to useful insights for further interventions to reduce this form of litter. In this study, we present a GIS-based methodology to estimate the density of cigarette butts across a large urban area. METHODS: We collected information about discarded cigarette butts in outdoor public spaces by systematic social observation in a diverse sample of areas in Madrid, Spain. We used these data to estimate the density of cigarette butts in public spaces around the entire city by performing GIS analyses based on Kernel Density Estimations. Last, we validated these measures using on-field observations in a set of locations across the city. RESULTS: Hospitality venues and public transportation stops were the places with the highest concentrations of cigarette butts, followed by the entrances to educational venues and playgrounds. Central districts showed the highest amount of cigarette butts in contrast to peripheral ones. We found that our measure had good validity, with a correlation coefficient of 0.784. DISCUSSION: This is the first study estimating and mapping cigarette butt litter in a large urban area. We identified a set of outdoor public places with high concentrations of cigarette butts and found geographical unevenness in the distribution of this pervasive form of litter across the study area. Our findings demonstrate the ubiquitous nature of cigarette butts in the urban environment and the need for interventions to reduce its impact on both people's health and the environment.
BACKGROUND: Cigarette butts are some of the most common form of litter in the World, causing severe environmental damage. Analysing spatial distribution of cigarette butts in the urban environment may lead to useful insights for further interventions to reduce this form of litter. In this study, we present a GIS-based methodology to estimate the density of cigarette butts across a large urban area. METHODS: We collected information about discarded cigarette butts in outdoor public spaces by systematic social observation in a diverse sample of areas in Madrid, Spain. We used these data to estimate the density of cigarette butts in public spaces around the entire city by performing GIS analyses based on Kernel Density Estimations. Last, we validated these measures using on-field observations in a set of locations across the city. RESULTS: Hospitality venues and public transportation stops were the places with the highest concentrations of cigarette butts, followed by the entrances to educational venues and playgrounds. Central districts showed the highest amount of cigarette butts in contrast to peripheral ones. We found that our measure had good validity, with a correlation coefficient of 0.784. DISCUSSION: This is the first study estimating and mapping cigarette butt litter in a large urban area. We identified a set of outdoor public places with high concentrations of cigarette butts and found geographical unevenness in the distribution of this pervasive form of litter across the study area. Our findings demonstrate the ubiquitous nature of cigarette butts in the urban environment and the need for interventions to reduce its impact on both people's health and the environment.
Authors: Nipapun Kungskulniti; Naowarut Charoenca; Stephen L Hamann; Siriwan Pitayarangsarit; Jeremiah Mock Journal: Int J Environ Res Public Health Date: 2018-03-29 Impact factor: 3.390
Authors: Ana Navas-Acien; Asli Çarkoğlu; Gül Ergör; Mutlu Hayran; Toker Ergüder; Bekir Kaplan; Jolie Susan; Hoda Magid; Jonathan Pollak; Joanna E Cohen Journal: Bull World Health Organ Date: 2015-11-23 Impact factor: 9.408
Authors: Andrea Pastor; Xisca Sureda; Roberto Valiente; Hannah Badland; Macarena García-Dorado; Francisco Escobar Journal: Int J Environ Res Public Health Date: 2022-07-27 Impact factor: 4.614