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Cigarette Litter Prevention Campaign

This is Litter, Too!
Did you know that only 10% of cigarette butts are deposited into a proper ash receptacle? That means that cigarettes are the item most likely to be littered! Many people believe that cigarettes are comprised of "natural" materials that decompose, and therefore do not consider their behavior littering. However, cigarettes are composed of cellulose acetate, a form of plastic which does not quickly degrade.

Cigarettes and the Environment

• Nearly 20% of all litter ends up in local streams, rivers, and waterways, but 80% of butts on the ground find their way into our water systems and detract from the quality of our drinking water.
• Cigarette butts present a threat to wildlife. Plastic pieces have been found in the stomachs of fish, birds, whales and other marine creatures that mistake them for food.
• Studies conducted by Clean Virginia Waterways show that the chemicals in cigarette butts easily leach out of the butts and are deadly to water fleas (a small but important animal that lives in most freshwater lakes and streams as well as the ocean).

Attitudes & Behavior

• While cigarette litter can occur anywhere, most cigarette littering occurs around what are called "transition points." Transition points are areas where a smoker must extinguish a cigarette before proceeding, such as outside retail stores, hotels, and office buildings. Areas where residents wait for transportation, like bus stops, also tend to attract cigarette litter.
• Many smokers who do not properly dispose of their butts do not consider their behavior littering.

Changing Behavior
Two years of field testing by Keep America Beautiful affiliates in over a dozen U.S. cities have found that cigarette litter can be reduced as much as 46% by implementing four specific strategies:

• Enforce Litter Laws - The City of Cincinnati enforces a $500 fine for littering.
• Install Ash Receptacles - Keep Cincinnati Beautiful has partnered with a number of business districts (including Downtown & Northside) to install ash receptacles near transition points. Click here for a list of companies that sell ash receptacles.
• Encourage Pocket Ashtrays - Keep Cincinnati Beautiful provides pocket ashtrays, which are portable for disposal on the go!
  
• Public Education - The This is Litter, Too! campaign has been reminding people in the Tri-State that cigarettes are litter, too since 1998.

For more information, visit Keep America Beautiful's website.

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