No Butts About It

In my last blog I talked about littering and focused on the effects of littering on our nations waterways.  In that blog, I mentioned how I personally classify litter as the “general” litter, the “waterway” litter and the next big one on my personal eco-hitlist, “cigarette butt” litter.

I used to be a smoker.  As a matter of fact, in my younger years when I thought it was cool to smoke I lit up regularly.  Being young and foolish, I spent 18 years smoking until I finally got the ambition and gained the strength to quit (after five previous unsuccessful tries!)  So for the smokers reading this I just want to you to know – I get it!

As one of those smokers, for a time, even I had my moments when I discarded a cigarette butt on a sidewalk or out a car window without a second thought.  Then, while I was still a smoker, I saw a very disturbing image of a bird’s nest that was largely created from cigarette butts that had small baby chicks eagerly awaiting the return of their mom with lunch.  After that, I was very conscious of where I dropped my butts!

Today, as I was walking through a parking lot in Salem, I happened to look down and noticed what must be hundreds of cigarette butts strewn all over the lot.  I have to say it made me a bit angry.  I mean really people?  They have butt receptacles all over the place not to mention the ash tray in your car.   Then I considered my own past digressions in the “butt area” and thought maybe people are just like I was and don’t really think about the impact a cigarette butt has on the environment around them   So here are a few things to consider next time you go to toss that butt on the ground or out the window.

According to www.cigarettelitter.org – a non-profit dedicated to protecting the environment from cigarette butt litter – “There is a lot of misinformation out there regarding cigarette butt litter. The biggest myth is that cigarette filters are biodegradable. In fact, cigarette butts are not biodegradable in the sense that most people think of the word. The acetate (plastic) filters can take many years to decompose. Smokers may not realize that their actions have such a lasting, negative impact on the environment.” “What happens after that butt gets casually flicked onto the street, nature trail, or beach? Typically wind and rain carry the cigarette into the water supply, where the toxic chemicals the cigarette filter was designed to trap leak out into aquatic ecosystems, threatening the quality of the water and many aquatic life forms. Cigarette butts may seem small, but with several trillion butts littered every year, the toxic chemicals add up!”

I encourage all smokers and even the non-smokers to check out www.cigarettelitter.org and see for yourself the very big impact these small little butts have on your environment.  While quitting is definitely preferred – to save the environment not to mention your wallet and if that’s not enough, how about your health – if you do smoke, maybe you will be a bit more hesitant to flick that butt off onto the roadway next time.