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Why Prevent Cigarette Litter?
Get a Free Pocket Ashtray

Cigarette litter is a real challenge for communities across the U.S. Lack of awareness, lack of ash receptacles, and ordinances that move smokers outdoors all increase cigarette littering. Individuals who would never litter beverage cans or paper packaging typically do not consider tossing cigarette butts on the ground littering. Dropping partially-smoked cigarettes, cigarette butts, matches, lighters, and packaging to the ground is littering. And it’s adding up.

About 95% of cigarette filters are composed of cellulose acetate, a form of plastic which does not quickly degrade and can persist in the environment. While cigarette litter may seem small, it adds up to a big impact on the places we live. Consider for example that:

- Cigarette litter is unsightly. It accumulates in many places, gathering in corners, gutters, and outside doorways and bus shelters. Increasing amounts of litter in a business district and other signs of disorder create a sense that no one cares about the community.

- Cigarette litter is harmful to waterways and wildlife.
About 18% of litter, traveling primarily through storm water systems, ends up in local streams, rivers, and waterways. Cigarette litter can also poses a hazard to animals and marine life when they mistake filters for food.

- Cigarette Litter is costly to residents and businesses.
Cigarette litter requires additional sidewalk and street sweeping, greenway and park maintenance, storm drain cleaning, and increased maintenance of storm water filters. Business owners also bear the expense of cigarette litter clean-up around their establishments including entrances, exits, and adjacent sidewalks and parking lots.

Strategies to Prevent Cigarette Litter

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:

1 - Enforce Anti-Litter Laws which includes empowering local police and other law enforcement agencies to target cigarette litter.

2 - Install Ash Receptacles. Ash receptacles, especially at transition points, are a key strategy to help smokers change their cigarette littering behavior. Keep America Beautiful research also found that mixed-use receptacles, such as ash/trash receptacles, were not as effective as ash-only receptacles. A well-designed ash receptacle helps send a message about proper disposal of cigarette litter. Small openings indicate the receptacle is for items of trash like cigarettes, butts, matches, lighters, and packaging. The best designs also have side openings which reduce the impact of rain and other inclement weather.

3 - Encourage the Use of Pocket Ashtrays. A pocket ashtray is a small, portable ashtray that fits into a pocket, briefcase, or purse. These allow smokers the opportunity to be personally responsible for proper disposal of cigarettes, even when they’re not in an area with available ash receptacles. The best pocket ashtrays close securely, hold several butts, and are reusable. While many smokers are unaware of the existence of personal ashtrays, when shown samples they are interested.  (Palm Beach County residents only)
FOR A FREE POCKET ASHTRAY - Send a self-addressed envelope with 2 first class stamps to:

Keep Palm Beach County Beautiful, Inc.
1920 Palm Beach Lakes Blvd., Suite 210
West Palm Beach, Florida 33409
 

4 - Change Behavior Through Public Education. Public education is an important component of changing attitudes and behaviors. Most smokers simply do not realize that littering cigarette butts has an environmental impact—and may earn them a fine. Raising awareness is the first step to changing behavior. Because cigarette littering behavior is not consistent with other littering behavior, it requires targeted public education. Focus messages specifically on cigarette litter. Many smokers do not consider themselves litterers, so general anti-littering messages are not effective in educating smokers about proper cigarette disposal. Create clear messages that depict cigarette butts as litter and direct smokers to appropriately dispose of cigarette litter. Target public service messages to adult smokers, business owners, and community leaders.

Designing a CLPP Pilot

The steps involved in designing a pilot program or plan of action to start a cigarette litter prevention program (CLPP) are:

 - Assess the Problem including reviewing the litter law and/or ordinances, selecting a pilot site, conducting a benchmark scan (count) of cigarette butts in a designated area and identifying "transition points."

- Organize a team or group of stakeholders including representatives from business, government and citizen groups.

- Implement the four prevention strategies above.

- Launch the campaign or pilot program. This may or may not include a kickoff event and alerting the media.

- Evaluate the results. Conduct a follow-up scan (count), about six months after the start of the program to document results. Stay as close as possible to the original location, day, and time of day as the first scan. Following this method offers a valid comparison with the initial survey conducted in the pilot neighborhood.

Print this informational brochure to distribute

Read and see video about our program with the City of Delray Beach

For more information visit http://www.preventcigarettelitter.org/ or
Contact Keep Palm Beach County Beautiful Inc. (561) 686-6646