An Interactive Artwork That Wants Us To Focus On The Smallest Biggest Polluter Out There – The Cigarette Butt – Design You Trust — Design Daily Since 2007

An Interactive Artwork That Wants Us To Focus On The Smallest Biggest Polluter Out There – The Cigarette Butt

The cigarette butt is one of the biggest underestimated polluter of our soils, waters and oceans. This interactive art installation created by environmental artist Thijs Biersteker makes the impact of one cigarette butt visible in a stunning but shocking way.

More: Thijs Biersteker, Instagram, Facebook

Researchers have uncovered that 1 cigarette butt pollutes 500 litres of water a day. 1 litre of water soaked with butts will kill 50% of all small ocean creatures in it. That is 3.4 ml of deadly water – a second coming from only 1 cigarette butt.

With the art installation Pollutive Ends the artist Thijs Biersteker shows the impact of 1 cigarette butt on our environment and waters. The impact is made visible by moving small elements of real polluted water hypnotically right in front of the visitors eyes through an intricate tube system. The algorithmic driven pumping system calculates the amount of visitors that are in the museum, the likelihood that they smoke and the amount of pollution that they would generate.

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 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

Pollutive Ends is part of the exhibition ‘Continuous Refle(a)ction”, an exhibition on eco-art, environmental protection and sustainability initiated by the Riverside Art Museum and Morcreate.Ltd, supported by Wild Aid and the Alashan Foundation.


If you want more awesome content, subscribe to Design You Trust Facebook page.

More Inspiring Stories

Soviet Fashion: Style Pages From 1980s U.S.S.R.

These Bee And Insect Hotels Are Designed To Add A Pop Of Color To Backyards And Help Tiny Creatures

Chinese Make-Up Artist With An Audience Of 360k Followers On Instagram Turns Herself Into Johnny Depp

Lithuanian Artist Creates Stunning Steampunk Sculptures From Trash

This Michigan Couple Couldn’t Have Friends and Family at Their Wedding. So They Had Cardboard Cutouts Instead

Fun And Creative Furniture Was Designed For These Kids Bedrooms

This Clip Bag By Peter Bristol, Designed To Look Like A Binder Clip

The Realistic 3-Dimensional LEGO Bridge

Italian Artist Proves Tattoos Look Good On More Than People’s Skin By Putting Them On His Sculptures

Glow-In-The-Dark Full Moon Sideboard By Sotirios Papadopoulos

Artist Emmanuelle Moureaux Creates A Colorful Installation Made Of 140,000 Pieces Of Paper

With This Ride-On Trump Costume It Looks Like Donald Is Giving You A Piggyback Ride

Expertly Crafted Bamboo Insects By Noriyuki Saitoh Appear Poised To Take Flight

Stare Into The Deep Blue Darkness Of The Abyss Dining Table

Artist Kat O’Sullivan Transforms a Dull Shack Into a Psychedelic Rainbow House

Everyone Needs A Niffler Necklace

Old Apple Products Turned Iinto Plants

This Chinese Company Creates the Most Incredible Realistic Figures of Game and Video Characters

Artist Liz Sexton Turns Little Animals Into Human Scale

A New Design Project Of The Serbian Dinar

Using An ‘Alien’ Facehugger As A Protective Face Mask

Nordstrom Is Selling Jeans Caked In Fake Dirt For Hundreds Of Dollars

Impressive Unique Art Dolls By Helena Oplakanska

Meet Challky, The Innovative Streetwear T-Shirt With A Chalk-Drawable Surface

Harry Potter House Comforters

Artist Beth Cavener Creates Terrible Animal Sculptures You'll Never Forget

"Can't Place This Here": A Concrete Fence Stuck in Textures

Fantastic 3D Laser Cut Meditative Visionary Art by Dan Schaub

A Flying Aquarium With A 90ft Whale... This Is Actual Size!

Jewelry Made From Barbie Doll Parts