Thijs Biersteker —Pollutive Ends

Pollutive Ends

Showing the impact of a single cigarette butt.

1 cigarette butt pollutes 500 Liters of water per day.
5.7 Trillion cigarettes are smoked a year,
67% of those are ending up in nature.

This interactive installation shows the real-time impact of
a single cigarette butt.

Screen Shot 2019-09-26 at 14.39.48.png — The installation interacts with the people in the room by adjusting the flow of liquids to their presence.

The cigarette butt is one of the most underestimated pollutants of our soil, water, and oceans. This interactive art installation, created by environmental artist Thijs Biersteker, makes the impact of a single cigarette butt visible in a stunning, yet shocking way.

Researchers have discovered that one cigarette butt can pollute 500 litres of water per day. One litre of water soaked with cigarette butts can kill 50% of all small ocean creatures within it. That is 3.4 ml of deadly water per second from just one cigarette butt.

With the art installation "Pollutive Ends," artist Thijs Biersteker showcases the impact of a single cigarette butt on our environment and waters. The impact is made visible by moving small elements of real polluted water hypnotically in front of the visitors' eyes through an intricate tube system. The algorithm-driven pumping system calculates the number of visitors in the museum, the likelihood that they smoke, and the amount of pollution they would generate.

“Pollutive Ends’ is an interactive artwork that wants us to focus on the smallest biggest polluter out there. The cigarette butt.”

One cigarette but pollutes 3.4 milliliter of water per minute to a deadly level for small sea and ocean creatures. In 2006 researchers from the US Environmental Protection Agency discovered that when you put a cigarette butt in 1 liter of water for one day, the toxic waste it creates will kill 50% of all small sea creatures and fish in the water. These filters emit cadmium, lead, arsenic and zinc and the bits of tobacco left in the filter emit tar, nicotine, pesticides and other chemicals.

“The idea for the installation is based on the research of the US Environmental Protection Agency, Surfrider Foundation and the World Health Organisation.

As an artist, I don’t only hope this artwork creates awareness for the 65% of people littering the filters in nature, but mainly to show the industry that they should start innovating their way out of this. Or just lose these pollutive ends completely’” says Biersteker.