> PROGRAMS > THIS IS LITTER TOO!
"They are recyclable, right? " WRONG!! If you throw your cigarette butts on the ground, they eventually find their way to the ocean and other water sheds and YOU are contributing to the most commonly found man-made waste that originates from land! "The Ocean Conservancy, a nonprofit environmental organization based in Washington, D.C., compiled the results of a shoreline cleanup day conducted by volunteers last year in 68 countries. It covered a combined 34,000 miles of shoreline and collected 7 million pounds of litter, 80 percent of which had been washed from land into the water. Of the 7.7 million items of debris collected worldwide in 2006, cigarettes and cigarette butts accounted for roughly 1.9 million, the sixth consecutive year they have topped the list.
"People think they are biodegradable," said Kathryn Novak, coordinator for the Florida branch of the Ocean Conservancy. They're not, so think before flicking that cigarette butt out the car window."
Litter Statistics
* According to the Ocean Conservancy, cigarette butt litter accounts for one in every five items collected during cleanups, making it the most prevalent form of litter on earth.
* There are over 176,000,000 pounds of discarded cigarette butts in the United States each year.
* Over 4.5 trillion cigarettes are littered worldwide each year. They are the most littered item in the world
Economic Costs
* Some of the costs are associated with the manpower and resources to pick up litter. Who picks up litter? Employees of parks, schools, hotels, restaurants, and local governments have to pick up litter, as well as volunteers who care about the environment.
* Cigarettes are often littered within 10 feet of a permanent ashtray. Now that most buildings do not allow smoking inside, the problem of discarded butts on sidewalks, entryways and in courtyards is increasing.
* Other costs are incurred when a discarded cigarette butt starts a fire that destroys a forest, a field, or people's homes. Fires caused by cigarette butts claim the lives of about 1,000 people and injure about 3,000 people each year.
* The costs of "lost revenue" are incurred when tourists will not spend their vacation dollars to visit a beach or park that is full of litter and trash.
MAKE A CHANGE IN OUR CITY!
* If you smoke or know someone who does, call us and we'll send you a portable pocket ashtray.
* Speak up and let others know that you don't approve this or any other kind of littering.
* Give us a call and join our "This is Litter Too! campaign.
This program is designed to remind people that cigarette butts are litter too! Many people think that cigarette butts are biodegradable and therefore okay to toss on the ground, but in fact the plastic in the filters lasts for years. Improper disposal of butts also leaches toxic chemicals into the ecosystem. Cigarette butts are small, but when several trillion are tossed on the ground every year, that adds up!
To properly dispose of cigarette butts, look for ashtrays outside of buildings. There are several cigarette "Buttlers" positioned around the downtown area. Unlike exposed sand containers, The "Buttler" conceals discarded cigarettes, keeping the unsightly well out of sight. These have proven very successful, as the Downtown Cincinnati Inc., Ambassadors empty about 150 butts from each of the twenty "Buttlers" every five days!
Click here to see our Cigarette Butt Litter fact sheet.
Also, Keep Cincinnati Beautiful offers pocket ashtrays for proper disposal on the go. Call our office at 352-4380 if you are interested in receiving one.
