Getting butts off the beach: Policy alone is not effective at reducing cigarette filter litter on beaches in Maui, Hawai'i

Cigarette filters are made of non-biodegradable plastic and are one of the top littered items worldwide. Here, we determine if policy implementation is an effective strategy for reducing cigarette filter litter on beaches in Maui, Hawai'i by comparing cigarette filter counts before and after a policy banning tobacco use was implemented. We use a before-after control-impact (BACI) design to investigate whether changes in cigarette filter accumulation at an impact site, where tobacco use was banned, decreased relative to counts at a control site, where tobacco use was not banned. A total of 764 cigarette filters were removed with no significant difference detected in cigarette filter littering between the control and impact site after the policy went into place. This study shows that policy requiring a shift from social norms, such as tossing cigarette butts, needs to be accompanied by sustained law enforcement and awareness around the policy to be effective.