Whenever we are weeding or watering at the Kingfisher beds, we invariably find quite a bit of litter hidden among the plants – parking tickets, broken bottles, empty cans and, most noticeably, a lot of cigarette butts.

There is an interesting article on the BBC news site today about a study, “led by Anglia Ruskin University, [which] found the presence of butts in soil reduced the germination success and shoot length of clover by 27% and 28% respectively.

Lead author Dr Dannielle Green said while dropping butts seemed to be “socially acceptable”, they had the ability to “cause serious damage to the environment”.

“Ryegrass and white clover, the two species we tested, are important forage crops for livestock as well as being commonly found in urban green spaces.

“These plants support a wealth of biodiversity, even in city parks, and white clover is ecologically important for pollinators and nitrogen fixation.”

She said that the filters can take years, if not decades, to break down.”

Read the full article here on the BBC website.