Cigarette Butts Are Litter Too

Have you noticed the new cigarette butt receptacles downtown? If you smoke, have you received a pocket ashtray from volunteers and cooperating businesses downtown? The City of Fredericksburg Clean and Green Commission received a 30 in 30 grant from Keep Virginia Beautiful, matching funds from the City of Fredericksburg, and non-competitive Litter Grant funds administered by the VA Department of Environmental Quality to address cigarette pollution in the historic downtown area of Fredericksburg last year.

Following the guidelines of the Keep America Beautiful Cigarette Litter Prevention Program, the Commission identified two blocks that suffered more cigarette litter than others and targeted that area with a cleanup netting 2,414 butts. R-Board staff and Commission volunteers placed informational displays in 12 businesses, and distributed 1,000 pocket ashtrays. After the cleanup and the education blitz, a 35% reduction in cigarette litter in the target area was noted.

The Clean and Green Commission hopes to expand the effort this year with up to ten more ashcans along downtown sidewalks, giving window decals to supporting
businesses, and continuing cleanups and scans to quantify the success of the
program.

Why is improper disposal of cigarette butts a problem?

Not only do animals ingest cigarette butts, mistaking them for food, but toxic chemicals leach out of cigarette litter and can harm animals too. The litter in the gutters and sidewalks in downtown Fredericksburg is easily washed into storm drains that lead directly to the Rappahannock River. The chemicals found in tobacco residue are a biohazard to small animals that are essential to the aquatic food chain.

Smoldering cigarette butts can cause fires when disposed in regular trash cans with flammable materials in addition to the obvious hazard of being tossed into dry grass or leaves. This article from CBS 6-TV, Richmond demonstrates the danger of not using a designated ashcan:

March 2004, Richmond, Virginia: Cigarette butts tossed in a jammed trash chute likely sparked a March 26 fire that destroyed 26 buildings and caused $20
million in damage, fire officials said Thursday. Arson has been ruled out, a
preliminary report released by the city said. The wind-whipped fire started
about noon in a five-story apartment building under construction to house
Virginia Commonwealth students. A chute used by workers to toss debris and
sawdust was likely the source of the fire when still-smoldering cigarette butts
were tossed into the chute with other trash. Wind gusts of 20 mph blew embers onto homes, some of them six blocks away. It took 200 firefighters about five
hours to control the fire. One death was blamed on the fire when power to the
area was shut off and a woman's oxygen tank quit.

All litter, not just cigarette butts, costs thousands of dollars to pick up. The R-Board has four staff and contracts with different organizations, including the Rappahannock Regional Jail, for litter cleanup. In addition to personnel, trash bags, and safety gear can add up.

What can you do?

Take pride in our community and never throw anything on the ground. Leave parks and public spaces cleaner than you found them, and teach your children that trash should always be placed in the proper place. Remember to cover your load when hauling items in the back of a pickup or on a trailer.

Check out these links for more information:

http://www.longwood.edu/cleanva/cigarettelitterhome.html

http://cigarettelitter.org/

http://www.keepvirginiabeautiful.org/