CINCINNATI - Keep Cincinnati Beautiful’s "This is Litter Too" campaign urging smokers to dispose of their cigarette butts properly has moved on to its next phase and can now be seen on five billboards. The billboards feature the "This is Litter Too" slogan and the image of a cigarette butt smashed into the concrete. The message is simple: cigarette butts are litter too.

Keep Cincinnati Beautiful distributed over 2,000 pocket ashtrays this summer. They are foil-lined for safe storage and take up less space in your pocket or purse than a pack of cigarettes. Simply store the cigarette butt in one of these temporary ashtrays until you can dispose of it properly. Best of all, the pocket ashtray is reusable. The pocket ashtrays have been successful with "Party in the Park" patrons and during random handouts around the city.

An adjunct to the "Don’t Trash the ‘Nati" campaign, "This is Litter Too" focuses on cigarette butts as a major source of litter. The campaign’s objective is to educate people on the dangers of improperly discarded cigarettes. The program began as 10 pole-mounted containers for cigarette disposal known as "butlers" were installed downtown in the fall of 2000.

KCB Executive Director, Linda Holterhoff says, "People don’t think of cigarette butts as litter, and they don’t realize that they aren’t biodegradable. The same person who would never dream of throwing a candy wrapper on the ground may not give a second thought as they toss their cigarette butt. There isn’t the same feeling of responsibility that goes along with it."

Locally, Keep Cincinnati Beautiful volunteers counted 7,000 butts littered in a four square block area. If you extrapolate that number out over a year across all downtown streets, the total amount of cigarette butts would stretch from Cincinnati to Orlando, Florida.

Here are some of the facts on cigarette butt littering (from www.cigarettelitter.org):

Cigarettes are the number one source of litter in America and the world, with an estimated 4.5 trillion littered annually.
Cigarette filters are NOT biodegradable – they are made of plastic fibers and they contain toxic chemicals, which are released into the environment.
Cigarette litter causes numerous fires every year, many of which are fatal.

Keep Cincinnati Beautiful is a not-for-profit organization promoting litter prevention, recycling, and community improvement and beautification through citizen action, education and strategic partnerships in the Greater Cincinnati area. To contact Keep Cincinnati Beautiful or receive a free pocket ashtray , call (513) 352-4380 or log on to our Web site at www.keepcincinnatibeautiful.org.