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Estimating and mapping cigarette butt littering in urban environments: A GIS approach
Journal article   Open access   Peer reviewed

Estimating and mapping cigarette butt littering in urban environments: A GIS approach

Roberto Valiente, Francisco Escobar, Jamie Pearce, Usama Bilal, Manuel Franco and Xisca Sureda
Environmental research, v 183, 109142
Apr 2020
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.envres.2020.109142
PMID: 32004828
Featured in Collection :   UN Sustainable Development Goals @ Drexel
url
https://doi.org/10.1016/j.envres.2020.109142View
Published, Version of Record (VoR)Open Access (License Unspecified),  Open

Abstract

GIS Kernel density estimation Cigarette butt density Cigarette butts
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. 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. 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. 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. •This study shows a reliable and replicable GIS methodology to estimate the cigarette butts' litter in urban environments.•Our results showed a ubiquitous and unequal distribution of cigarette butts' litter in the environment in our study area.•Central areas with higher density of hospitality venues and transportation stops had higher densities of cigarette butts.•This study revealed some hints for future interventions to reduce cigarette butt littering in public spaces.

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13 Record Views
62 citations in Web of Science
66 citations in Scopus

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UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs)

This publication has contributed to the advancement of the following goals:

#14 Life Below Water
#6 Clean Water and Sanitation
#12 Responsible Consumption & Production
#11 Sustainable Cities and Communities

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Collaboration types
Domestic collaboration
International collaboration
Web of Science research areas
Environmental Sciences
Public, Environmental & Occupational Health
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