activities: cigarette butt clean-up campaigns 'Environmentally friendly' brand promotion

Such corporate social responsibilityefforts often include cigarette butt clean-up campaigns, an envi-ronmental issue close to both the public and the politicians.Characterised by their ideal climate, the beaches surroundingtheMediterranean areamajordestination for millions oftouristsannually, a significant percentage of whom are youths that flockto thesouthin searchof ‘sea,sun andfun’.However,thebeachesand aquatic ecosystems in the Mediterranean are significantlypollutedbynon-biodegradablecigarettebutts,astheyareboththemostfrequentlyfoundwasteonbeaches(wheretheyaccountfor40% of all marine trash) and the most difficult to remove whenusing mechanical cleaning systems.