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Impact of cigarette butts on bacterial community structure in soil

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Abstract

Cigarette butts contribute significantly to global pollution present on the planet. The filters found in cigarette butts contain a microplastic, cellulose acetate, as well as toxic metals and metalloids which are responsible for pollution in the environment. Although cigarette butt litter is prevalent in many soils, research on the effects of these cigarette butts is limited. In this study, we used Automated Ribosomal Intergenic Spacer Analysis (ARISA) to generate DNA fingerprints of bacterial communities in soil before and after the addition of cigarette butt leachate treatments. An ICP-MS analysis of the biodegradable and non-biodegradable cigarette butts revealed the presence of various elements: Al, As, B, Ba, Cd, Co, Cr, Cu, Fe, Hg, Mn, Mo, Ni, Pb, Sb, Se, Sn, Sr, V, and Zn. The analysis also specified which metals were present at the highest concentrations in the biodegradable and non-biodegradable cigarette butts, and these were, respectively, Al (1,31 g/kg and 2,35 g/kg), Fe (2,03 g/kg and 1,11 g/kg), and Zn (3,18 mg/kg and 15,70 mg/kg). Our results show that biodegradable cigarette butts had a significant effect on bacterial community composition (beta diversity), unlike the non-biodegradable butts. This effect can be attributed to higher concentrations of certain metals and metalloids in the leachate of biodegradable cigarette butts compared to the non-biodegradable ones. Our findings suggest that biodegradable and non-biodegradable cigarette butts can significantly affect bacterial communities in soil as a result of the leaching of significant quantities of certain elements into the surrounding soils.

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Submission of raw data is not applicable to this manuscript but will be made available to reviewers on request.

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Acknowledgements

We are grateful to Stellenbosch University Microbiology Department for the use of their equipment and materials, the Central Analytical Facility at Stellenbosch University for performing the ARISA and ICP-MS analyses and Dr B. Loedolff for providing assistance and guidance throughout the project. Thank you to Mr C. Brink and Ms T. Conradie for assisting in ARISA visualisation and data analysis and Mrs J. Daniels for preparing the materials and reagents.

Funding

The project formed part of the Microbial Ecology module (MKB364) in the Molecular Biology and Biotechnology undergraduate programme at Stellenbosch University. Funding for the project was provided by the Department of Microbiology.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Microbiology, Stellenbosch University, Private Bag X1, Stellenbosch, South Africa

    Elizaveta Koroleva, Aza Zizipo Mqulwa, Scott Norris-Jones, Sidney Reed, Zahraa Tambe, Aiden Visagie & Karin Jacobs

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  1. Elizaveta Koroleva
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  2. Aza Zizipo Mqulwa
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  7. Karin Jacobs
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Contributions

EK, AZM, SNJ, SR, and ZT were undergraduate students at the time the study was conducted. They were responsible for the conceptualisation, planning, and execution of the project; they also produced the draft manuscript. AV is a post-graduate student who mentored and guided them during the course of the study; KJ is the lecturer of the course and was responsible for assisting with the writing and finalisation of the manuscript. The author(s) read and approved the final manuscript.

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Correspondence to Karin Jacobs.

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Koroleva, E., Mqulwa, A.Z., Norris-Jones, S. et al. Impact of cigarette butts on bacterial community structure in soil. Environ Sci Pollut Res 28, 33030–33040 (2021). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11356-021-13152-w

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