Snus biodegradable?

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  • stew.12
    Member
    • May 2008
    • 92

    Snus biodegradable?

    I throw away many a snus portion, lately ive been kind of worrying about it's impact on the environment. Cigarette butts take 150 years to turn into natural matter.
    SO.. is snus litter?
  • lxskllr
    Member
    • Sep 2007
    • 13435

    #2
    I throw mine out of eyesight. They stick around for awhile, but biodegrade AFAIK. I toss mine in a trashcan if available, otherwise under a bush, or something like that.

    The figure for cigarette butts is a bit overstated imo. Butts last, but they turn invisible after not that long a time. While it may be technically true that it takes 150 years to biodegrade(I don't know if that's accurate), they get ground up, and are out of site in a much shorter time.

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    • Quemador
      Member
      • Apr 2009
      • 83

      #3
      I read somewhere in here the portion material is made from vegetable fiber. Tobacco itself is a plant. Dog turds on your front lawn probably take more time to compost than a snus portion.

      Comment

      • Xobeloot
        Member
        • Jan 2008
        • 2542

        #4
        PP could probably answer this best as his portions go into his worm compost.

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        • Maxpower05080
          Member
          • Mar 2009
          • 185

          #5
          Re: Snus biodegradable?

          Originally posted by stew.12
          Cigarette butts take 150 years to turn into natural matter.
          litter?
          lol whered you hear that? prob some greeny freak who doesn't know much about the ecosystem anyway. Cigarette butts are cotton and paper, and will decompose in a few years or less. 150 years...lol....Even an 80 ton oak would decompose in half that time.

          just toss your portions in the garbage can, and your good. If you're not near one put it into the lid catcher on your snus can.

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          • lxskllr
            Member
            • Sep 2007
            • 13435

            #6
            Re: Snus biodegradable?

            Originally posted by Maxpower05080
            Originally posted by stew.12
            Cigarette butts take 150 years to turn into natural matter.
            litter?
            lol whered you hear that? prob some greeny freak who doesn't know much about the ecosystem anyway. Cigarette butts are cotton and paper, and will decompose in a few years or less. 150 years...lol....Even an 80 ton oak would decompose in half that time.

            just toss your portions in the garbage can, and your good. If you're not near one put it into the lid catcher on your snus can.
            One small correction... Filters are generally acetate. That's why I find 150 years technically feasible for the individual fibers. But they'll be so blown apart after awhile, that they wouldn't be recognizable as a cigarette butt well short of the 150 year mark(assuming that's correct).

            Edit: According to Wikipedia, the very high end for biodegradation is 15 years.

            http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cigarette_filter

            Comment

            • RobsanX
              Member
              • Aug 2008
              • 2030

              #7
              I think that the cellulose portion bags will stay around a while, but they are not harmful to the environment or wildlife...

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              • ddandb
                Member
                • Mar 2009
                • 570

                #8
                A Snus portion is something like tea bag with tobacco in it instead of tea leafs.
                As a matter of fact it is exactly like a tea bag with tobacco in it instead of tea leafs.

                When's the last time you saw an environmentally conscious tea drinker worried about his tea bag?

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                • Pson
                  New Member
                  • Nov 2008
                  • 12

                  #9
                  I think i read something at a school a time ago, it said i would take about 80 years for a butt and only three for snus bag.

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                  • itchystiches
                    Member
                    • Oct 2007
                    • 194

                    #10
                    I've been experimenting over my course of snus usage. I must spit out on average about 25 portions a day on the courtyard outside my office, and did the same at college... they always seem to be gone after a week or so. So what's the problem? :P

                    IS

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                    • Maxpower05080
                      Member
                      • Mar 2009
                      • 185

                      #11
                      The only thing bad I can think of is a bird or small animal eating a snus pouch, and getting sick. So just get them in a trash can and we have no worries. This is something I need to do myself too!

                      Comment

                      • deebocools
                        Member
                        • Nov 2008
                        • 661

                        #12
                        I'm an avid not-litterer(I'll sooner hold a bunch of garbage in my hands for hours), partly for environmental reasons, but there's also more pragmatic concerns.

                        cigarette butts on the highway is very dangerous for motorcyclists, and on city sidewalks it can be dangerous for road bikes and skateboards. For those reasons, snus portions are just about as bad in the short term.

                        There is always an option instead of littering. keep an empty grocery bag in your car for trash. Keep one on your porch, wherever you roam.

                        That aspect of cigarette smoking bothers me much more than smoke or health or anything else. 9 times out of 10 they toss their butts in such apparent victory. In the case of cigarettes, squeeze the cherry out and put the filter in your pocket. If you don't want butts in your pocket, consider that everyone else doesn't want butts in the road.

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                        • sagedil
                          Member
                          • Nov 2007
                          • 7077

                          #13
                          I never throw a portion on the sidewalk or street. The only time I throw one on the ground is in my garden.

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                          • ponysoprano
                            Member
                            • Jul 2008
                            • 562

                            #14
                            I hope to hell they break down quickly, as I mentioned a few months back, I've been flushing portions down the toilet (septic system) for nearly a year. Nothing bad has happened so far...maybe one day I'll be riding a wave of half rotten portions and human waste as I'm blown through the roof from pressure buildup.
                            :shock:

                            Comment

                            • Austin3600
                              New Member
                              • Apr 2009
                              • 1

                              #15
                              Originally posted by ponysoprano
                              I hope to hell they break down quickly, as I mentioned a few months back, I've been flushing portions down the toilet (septic system) for nearly a year. Nothing bad has happened so far...maybe one day I'll be riding a wave of half rotten portions and human waste as I'm blown through the roof from pressure buildup.
                              :shock:
                              LOL... This is the funniest thing I've read/heard all day long. Yes, I registered just to respond to this... Plus I'm new to snus and just browsing around gathering information

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