Category: Sustainability

  • Forestation Rules Underway

    Forestation Rules Underway

    Image: patpitchaya

    Companies should avoid pushing back plans to ensure that they and their products comply with the EU Deforestation Regulation, warns the Crowell law firm.

    On Oct. 2, the European Commission published proposals to postpone some of the application deadlines to give companies more time to comply with core provisions of the legislation, which entered into force in June 2023.

    The legislation specifically targets products like cocoa, coffee, soy and palm oil, but the tobacco business, too, has faced criticism for its contribution to deforestation, especially in countries where farmers use wood as a fuel to cure their leaf.

    EU Institutions are currently in the process of deciding whether the new (delayed) deadlines will apply. The proposal must be approved by both the European Parliament and the Council of the EU, which represents the member states. If passed, larger companies will have until Dec. 30, 2025, to comply with the new rules, while small and medium-sized enterprises will have until June 30, 2026, according to Euro News.

    According to Crowell, the potential delay should not be taken as an excuse to postpone action. Ensuring that products and supply chains comply with the deforestation regulation is no easy feat and can take considerable time and effort. What’s more, failure to comply may attract significant penalties—including criminal liability—in the future.

    The law firms advises companies to assess the scope and application of the deforestation regulation as soon as possible, and ensure commodities and products they themselves supply – comply with the Deforestation Regulation. Moreover, companies should ensure that upstream commodities, products and raw materials are fully compliant to avoid supply-chain disruption.

    The EU has been criticized for its role in global deforestation. Estimates suggest the bloc is responsible for deforesting over 2480 square km annually—an area nearly the size of Luxembourg.

  • California County Bans Filtered Cigarettes

    California County Bans Filtered Cigarettes

    Photo: lienkie

    The Board of Supervisors of Santa Cruz County, California, on Oct. 29 decided to ban the sale of filtered cigarettes and cigars, making it the world’s first jurisdiction to do so, according to Action on Smoking and Health (ASH).

    The sales ban will apply to all unincorporated areas of the county and requires that two of the four incorporated cities in the county pass similar ordinances before coming into effect.

    Cigarette filters are the world’s leading source of trash and the leading source of plastic pollution. Globally, approximately 4.5 trillion used filters are discarded into the environment every year. Filters are nonbiodegradable and cannot be feasibly collected or recycled.

    “There are no downstream solutions to the plague of cigarette filters,” said Laurent Huber, executive director of ASH. “The only practical choice is to eliminate them from the market.”

    “In addition to adding microplastics to the environment, hazardous chemicals from tobacco smoke that are trapped in the filters leach into water and soil,” said Georg E. Matt, co-director of the Center for Tobacco and the Environment at San Diego State University. “Cigarette filters have no health benefits to smokers; they just make it easier to get people addicted and keep them addicted.”

    Around the world, several jurisdictions are also considering filter bans. Environmental ministries in Belgium and the Netherlands have recommended banning filters, and over the past several years, bills have been introduced in several U.S. states. Current negotiations at the United Nations on a treaty to end plastic pollution include text banning filters worldwide.

    The tobacco industry added filters to cigarettes in the 1950s in response to growing health concerns about smoking, but critics contend that they don’t reduce the health risks. More than 98 percent of cigarettes are filtered.

  • French City Offers Honey in Exchange for Butts

    French City Offers Honey in Exchange for Butts

    Image: Dionisvera

    The French city of Darnetal is offering residents honey in exchange for cigarette litter, reports Euro Pulse.

    For each 1.5 liter bottle filled with butts, volunteers receive a pot of honey from local apiaries.

    According to city hall estimates, 200 kilograms of cigarette butts end up on the sidewalks of Darnetal every year despite the fact that France punishes litterbugs with a fine of €135 per improperly discarded butt.

    The plastic contained in the filters presents risks for water and soil, poisoning people and animals. The initiative is designed to motivate people to think about their contribution to environmental pollution.

    European cities have been getting creative in tackling the problem of cigarette litter. In January, Slovakia announced a project to turn discarded butts into asphalt. The first road made of cigarette butts was constructed in the city of Ziar nad Hronom.

  • Azerbaijan Hikes Penalties for Cigarette Litter

    Azerbaijan Hikes Penalties for Cigarette Litter

    Azerbaijan is keen to keep its public spaces spotless. (Photo: Taco Tuinstra)

    Azerbaijan has increased the penalties for littering tobacco waste sixfold, reports News.az.

    The fine for dumping tobacco waste into the environment has risen from AZN50 ($29.41) to AZN300. Repeat offenders risk a AZN700 penalty or up to 100 hours of community service.

  • Europe OKs French Ban on Disposables

    Europe OKs French Ban on Disposables

    Photo: justoomm

    The European Commission on Sept. 25 approved France’s bid to ban disposable vapes, reports the Connexion.

    France started the process of banning single-use e-cigarettes in December 2023, citing concerns about youth uptake and environmental pollution. Disposable vapes contain microplastics and chemical substances and are generally powered by nonrechargeable, nonrecyclable lithium batteries.

    The National Assembly’s proposed ban gained approval in the French Senate in February 2024.

    Europe’s validation was the final step in making the ban possible.

    “This is a great victory for the environment and for the health of our children, who are the main targets of these marketing campaigns,” Francesca Pasquini, co-writer of the bill, was quoted as saying.

    Lawmakers have yet to determine when the legislation will take force. The next step is for senators to vote definitively on a ban before it is formally put into effect.

    France will be joining Belgium, where the sale of disposable vapes will be illegal from Jan. 1, 2025.

    According to an investigation by the French anti-smoking federation ACT, 15 percent of teenagers aged between 13 and 16 have used e-cigarettes.

  • Malta to Make Industry Pay for Litter Cleanup

    Malta to Make Industry Pay for Litter Cleanup

    Photo: lienkie

    The government of Malta is working to make tobacco companies responsible for the cost of disposing cigarette butts, in line with the European Union’s Single-Use Plastics (SUP) Directive, reports Malta Today.

    Cigarette butts account for 22 percent of waste collected from European beaches. A survey conducted by the environment ministry in 2021 found that 11 percent of smokers admit to throwing cigarette butts on the floor.

    Nearly all filters in circulation today are made of plastic fibers that won’t break down organically. Studies show that it may take up to 10 years for a cigarette butt to decompose.

    Malta’s draft legal notice introduces a framework compelling tobacco producers to cover the costs associated with clean-up efforts, waste receptacles and public awareness campaigns. The industry will also be required to fund the waste management of their products through a producer responsibility organization (PRO). Until a PRO is set up, Malta’s Environment and Resources Authority will allocate the costs according to tobacco companies’ market shares.

  • Republic Launches Plastic-Free Tips

    Republic Launches Plastic-Free Tips

    Image: Republic Technologies

    Republic Technologies has launched Just Paper plastic-free filter tips in the United Kingdom, reports Talking Retail.

    According to Republic Technologies, Just Paper filters provide consumers with an experience that is similar to that of traditional cellulose acetate filters but with a lower environmental impact.

    “The Just Paper range represents a breakthrough in the development of filter tips with a significantly reduced impact on the environment,” said Gavin Anderson, sales and marketing director at Republic Technologies (U.K.).

    “We know that there’s more to do on this journey, but innovation of this kind is a major step for the brand and category. We’re confident that it will attract new shoppers to Swan, strengthening its position as the brand of choice for retailers and roll-your-own shoppers.”

  • Zimbabwean Firm to Turn Leaf Waste Into Agrochemicals

    Zimbabwean Firm to Turn Leaf Waste Into Agrochemicals

    Photo: Kym McLeod

    African Extracts of Zimbabwe is looking to process tobacco scrap into fertilizer and agricultural chemicals, reports The Herald.

    According to African Extracts CEO Sunny Singh, the company extracts crude nicotine from the tobacco waste. The crude nicotine is then used in multiple industries with further processing.

    “By doing so using our cutting-edge technology, we turn tobacco waste into a valuable resource and in turn boost earnings for farmers, as they will be able to derive more value from the entirety of the tobacco crop rather than just from the marketable leaf,” said Singh.

    Extracting the nicotine allows for the waste to be used more safely as manure or converted to organic fertilizer, according to African Extracts. “We understand the negative impact and complexities disposing such waste has on the soil and environment,” said Singh.

    “Through further processing, we will produce organic soil conditioners, pesticides and other agricultural inputs contributing to sustainable agricultural practices.”

    The million-dollar project is set to begin production in August.

    “We could see the challenges being faced by the tobacco processers in disposing their waste in an eco-friendly manner therefore our technology and production processes facilitates for a nonhazardous way of disposing tobacco waste,” said Singh.

    “There are opportunities to increase the level of value addition and beneficiation of tobacco,” said Emmanuel Matsvaire, Tobacco Industry and Marketing Board CEO, highlighting the government’s recent attention to value addition.

  • Greenbutts to Produce at 22nd Century

    Greenbutts to Produce at 22nd Century

    Photo: Greenbutts

    22nd Century Group will provide Greenbutts with manufacturing space at its Mocksville, North Carolina, USA, NASCO manufacturing facility and with NASCO staff to operate the equipment for a new cigarette filter solution.

    Greenbutts offers a patented technology to replace single-use, plastic-based filters currently used in tobacco products with water-soluble, fully biodegradable filter solutions.

    “With an estimated 6 trillion manufactured every year, plastic-based cigarette butts are the most abundant form of plastic waste worldwide,” said 22nd Century Group chairman and CEO Larry Firestone in a statement.

    “Adding to that, an estimated 65 percent are littered, making them the world’s single most littered item. Unfortunately, the cellulose acetate plastics used in conventional cigarette butts takes decades to biodegrade, resulting in toxic waste that is harmful to ecosystems and wildlife, especially aquatic ecosystems. Greenbutts provides a simple, nontoxic, 100 percent biodegradable, plant-based and water-dispersing solution that is free of plastic and harmful chemicals while providing the same smoking experience as current filters.

    “Under this new multiyear agreement, 22nd Century Group will provide the manufacturing space and support needed to produce sample product to allow Greenbutts to pursue FDA approval, with the mutual goal thereafter of expanding to full commercial production.

    “We see this as an exciting new innovation and disruptor that could be used in both our VLN reduced-nicotine content cigarettes, the first and only combustible cigarette to receive an FDA harm reduction authorization, and in our CMO business for other conventional cigarette brands as well, where advanced discussions about potential use in cigarette products are already underway.”

  • KT&G Supports Farmers

    KT&G Supports Farmers

    Photo: KT&G

    KT&G delivered welfare improvement support funds amounting to approximately KRW420 million ($303,020) to tobacco farmers.

    This year’s support funds will be used for health checkup fees, child scholarships and the purchase of fuel-saving devices for drying facilities targeting leaf tobacco growers.

    KT&G has been delivering welfare improvement support funds to leaf tobacco farmers annually since 2013, reaching a total of KRW4.28 billion this year. During the same period, the cumulative number of benefiting growers reached 15,212.

    Korean tobacco farmers have been struggling to secure labor due to the declining and aging rural population. Tobacco cultivation is difficult to mechanize, which makes it imperative to look after growers’ health, according to KT&G.

    The fuel-saving device recirculates the heat discharged during tobacco drying. Since 2022, KT&G has provided 214 units.

    The company also assists its farmers by purchasing all domestic leaf tobacco every year and dispatching employee volunteer groups to assist during the planting and harvesting seasons.

    “We continue to support the welfare improvement projects for farmers to alleviate their difficulties and provide practical help,” said Kim Jeong-ho, head of KT&G SCM headquarters, in a statement.

    “We will continue to provide consistent support to improve the health and economic conditions of leaf tobacco farmers.”