Smoking has been banned at Vancouver beaches for years, but a new study from the University of British Columbia suggests the message might not be getting through to some smokers.

Researchers have found cigarette butts and filters make up nearly half of all the litter recovered from coastlines along the southern Strait of Georgia, which includes the areas around Vancouver and Victoria.

Study co-author Cassandra Konecny said that's particularly concerning because, despite what some people might think, the filters in cigarette filters are made of plastic.

"That's a large input of plastics into our oceans," Konecny said. "I think a lot of people that are throwing their cigarette butts on the ground don't consider it littering because they look like they're made of paper and biodegradable, but studies have shown that they are only able to degrade under what they term 'severe environmental conditions.'"

Vanessa Fladmark, another co-author, said the toxic chemicals in the cigarettes often end up making their way into various food chains as well.

"The micro plastic fibres in the cigarette filters, they break up into smaller pieces and those can also get into our food web and harm animals," she added.

The researchers analyzed data from 1,226 shoreline cleanups performed between 2013 and 2016 by Great Canadian Shoreline Cleanup, a program launched by the Vancouver Aquarium and WWF-Canada.

What they found was that 80 to 90 per cent of the litter collected is usually plastic waste. Besides cigarettes, other common items found included foam pieces, plastic pieces, food wrappers and containers.

The researchers said the kind of trash collected varied between regions, with cleanup crews in northern areas such as Haida Gwaii and Prince Rupert more likely to find recreational items like plastic bottles and bags.

The team hopes their findings will help raise awareness about the trash littering B.C.'s shorelines, and potentially even lead to policy changes that could help keep more garbage off the beach.

They said the data shows little difference in the amount of trash being collected over time – which suggests the government's current approach isn't working.

In the City of Vancouver, police and park rangers have handed out more than 1,000 fines of $250 for smoking in parks and at beaches since it was banned back in 2010. But staff said enforcing the bylaw has been more challenging since 2016 because of the deadly overdose crisis in B.C.

"Our Rangers have been under increasing pressure to respond to homelessness and public safety in parks and the overdose crisis. This has impacted enforcement activities," a spokesperson said in an email.

The researchers said they hope to see regulatory changes for the way commonly littered items are made and distributed, better waste management infrastructure, and awareness campaigns about marine pollution.

With files from CTV Vancouver's Maria Weisgarber