Role of Cigarette Butt in poor plant growth and nitrate levels

Abstract

4.5 trillion cigarette butts are littered worldwide per year. Beyond the environmental damage that the cigarette butts
 themselves propagate through the ecosystem, the effects on plant reproduction and growth that cigarette butts pose is
 relatively unstudied. The hypothesis was that microplastics from cigarette butts will decrease the plant’s nutrition by
 decreasing nitrate levels in the soil and will also affect a plant's growth based on the toxic materials in the cigarette
 butts. My procedure was that before I started the experiment, I would collect materials and make water solutions,
 and grow the microgreen seeds. From Day 1, I would transfer and label seed groups and experimental test groups
 with toothpick signs. Every day at 8 am, I would water each of the 15 seedlings with 1 mL of water or cigarette butt
 water. I would measure the height of each sample and take the average. I would send it to the lab for plant tissue
 testing. My final steps were to take the averages of height and mineral values for each experimental group, plot
 trends using the averages over the days, analyze data, and trace the individual trends of each seedling height and
 health for 11 or 16 days. Based on the given data of each graph of Brassica Oleracea over a 11-day period and
 Helianthus Annuus over a 16-day period and plant nutrient reports, I can safely conclude that cigarettes butts do
 affect plant growth and nitrate levels.