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NEWSLETTER ARTICLE Possible Headlines: Tobacco Litter is More Than Just an Eyesore Tobacco Litter is Toxic Waste Tobacco Toxins Get Into More Than Just Your Lungs Take a short walk down the street, through a park or a beach and you’re bound to see it… cigarette butts, cigar tips, even cellophane wrappers and packaging, also known as…tobacco litter. Environmental cleanups consistently report cigarette butts as the number one picked up item. More than 12,000 cigarette butts were collected along Maryland beaches during a recent International Coastal Cleanup. Many people don’t see cigarette butts as litter and don’t realize their toxicity – leading some people to believe disposing of their tobacco on the ground is harmless. The truth is cigarette toxins get into more than just our lungs. Cigarette filters contain cellulose acetate – a plastic material that makes butts slow to degrade, if they degrade at all. Tobacco litter is more than just an eyesore; it’s toxic waste leaching heavy metals and chemicals such as lead and cyanide into our environment, poisoning our water and our communities where we live, work, and play. Tobacco litter is an issue that deserves increased awareness to promote healthy and safe communities. Help raise awareness about the toxic tobacco litter problem and provide another good reason to quit smoking or not start at all—for the health of your lungs, your community, and the environment! For more information on the toxicity of tobacco litter and ways you can help, visit: www.NoTobaccoLitter.com. If you or a loved one are ready to quit tobacco use, call 1-800-QUIT-NOW or visit: www.SmokingStopsHere.com. Department of Health and Mental Hygiene Tobacco litter hurts our planet. No butts about it. NoTobaccoLitter.com.

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Safe Use of Wastewater in Agriculture: Good Practice Examples
SAFE USE OF WASTEWATER IN AGRICULTURE: GOOD PRACTICE EXAMPLES Hiroshan Hettiarachchi Reza Ardakanian, Editors SAFE USE OF WASTEWATER IN AGRICULTURE: GOOD PRACTICE EXAMPLES Hiroshan Hettiarachchi Reza Ardakanian, Editors PREFACE Population growth, rapid urbanisation, more water intense consumption patterns and climate change are intensifying the pressure on freshwater resources. The increasing scarcity of water, combined with other factors such as energy and fertilizers, is driving millions of farmers and other entrepreneurs to make use of wastewater. Wastewater reuse is an excellent example that naturally explains the importance of integrated management of water, soil and waste, which we define as the Nexus While the information in this book are generally believed to be true and accurate at the approach. The process begins in the waste sector, but the selection of date of publication, the editors and the publisher cannot accept any legal responsibility for the correct management model can make it relevant and important to any errors or omissions that may be made. The publisher makes no warranty, expressed or the water and soil as well. Over 20 million hectares of land are currently implied, with respect to the material contained herein. known to be irrigated with wastewater. This is interesting, but the The opinions expressed in this book are those of the Case Authors. Their inclusion in this alarming fact is that a greater percentage of this practice is not based book does not imply endorsement by the United Nations University. on any scientific criterion that ensures the “safe use” of wastewater. In order to address the technical, institutional, and policy challenges of safe water reuse, developing countries and countries in transition need clear institutional arrangements and more skilled human resources, United Nations University Institute for Integrated with a sound understanding of the opportunities and potential risks of Management of Material Fluxes and of Resources wastewater use.
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