Millions of cigarette butts are discarded on the streets of Paris every day, creating a stubborn litter problem that costs the city millions of euros a year to clean up. As authorities threaten irresponsible smokers with fines, volunteers are taking to the streets to tackle their waste.
Paris City Hall estimates that between 1.5 and 2 billion cigarette butts are discarded on the capital's streets each year, costing around €10 million annually to clean up.
"We need to take into account how popular Paris is as a city. It's the most visited city in the world," says Konstantinos Despotidis, founder of Creatives of Tomorrow, a Paris-based non-profit dedicated to climate action and sustainability.
"That's why we're here, to support Paris City Hall as much as we can by collecting litter here and there."
His group organises regular cleanups where volunteers meet to pick up waste.
"We try to sort the litter out in cigarette butts and glass bottles, plastic. And then we give them to dedicated organisations where they can actually recycle these materials and give them another life," he tells RFI.
Kicking butts
On Sunday 20 September, a dozen of the organisation's volunteers took part in World Cleanup Day – a global movement founded in Estonia in 2008 and a UN event since 2023.
In groups of two or three, they fanned out through different streets near Notre-Dame in the heart of Paris.
"We walk with a plastic bag and pick up everything we can find," said Jacques, as he collected rubbish with fellow volunteer Laurence.
The duo picked up mainly cigarette butts.
"This morning, I did another cleanup on Rue de Rennes. There were 16 of us, and we collected 2.5 kilos of cigarette butts in an hour and a half," Jacques adds.
Anyone caught throwing a cigarette butt on the ground in France faces a fine of €135.
Since June 2025, smokers in France are barred from lighting up near schools, libraries, swimming pools and sports grounds. Smoking is also prohibited in public parks, on beaches during bathing season and at bus stops during operating hours.
Long-term hazard
"It’s important, it keeps the streets clean," says another litter picker, Moussa, pointing to the long-term effects of discarded butts.
"It’s good for the environment too, because if you leave cigarette butts on the ground and it rains, they’ll pollute the water."
Dropped butts can end up in drains, stormwater systems, rivers and eventually the sea.
Most filters in cigarettes contain plastic, made of cellulose acetate. It takes years to break down and when it does, ends up as tiny fragments of microplastic.
Waste butts also pose a more immediate danger. The French government estimates that 90 percent of forest fires are started by human activity, and 15 percent of those by lit cigarettes, barbecues, fireworks and other improperly managed flames.
The devastating forest fires that France experienced this year were part of what pushed Pauline, another volunteer, to help out for the first time.
"It’s really motivating. I’ve always been very aware of climate change and other issues," she said. "This year, with the forest fires, there were loads of things that really got me down, so I decided to do what I can at my level."
According to the organisers, more than 120,000 people took part in World Cleanup Day across France.
