Weymouth Police Remind Residents: ‘Our Town is Not an Ash Tray'

The Weymouth Police Department is reminding residents that it is against the law to throw cigarettes out car windows.

Violators can also be summoned to court to face a judge for throwing your cigarette out the window, Weymouth Police posted on their Facebook Page.

The police department said residents are prohibited from throwing a lighted cigarette or match from a vehicle.  Violators could face no more than 30 days in jail or a fine or up to a $100 fine, police said.

“Have some respect.  Our town is not an ashtray. That’s why they
put them in cars,” the Weymouth police said on Facebook.

• Every littered cigarette butt can take anywhere from two to twenty-five years to biodegrade.
• According to the Center for Marine Conservation, cigarette butt litter accounts for one in every five items collected on cleanups, making it the most prevalent form of litter ON EARTH.
• Animals, marine life, and toddlers who ingest dropped cigarette butts can become ill or die from them.
• 80% of butts on the ground find their way into our water systems and detract from the quality of our drinking water. Cigarette butts can leach chemicals such as cadmium, lead and arsenic into our marine environment within an hour of contact with water. Cigarette butts have been found in the stomachs of fish, whales, birds and other marine animals which leads to ingestion of hazardous chemicals and digestive blockages.
  

Tell Us: Do you think people who dispose cigarettes on Weymouth roads should be punished?