Virginia is not an Ashtray!
Did you know that cigarette butts are litter too? According to www.preventcigarettelitter.org, 23% of people didn’t realize that cigarettes were litter and 79% of people thought they were bio-degradable. Well I’m here to set the record straight…Cigarettes are definitely litter and they are not bio-degradable! Cigarette butts contain many chemicals that are very harmful to the environment, including wildlife, flora and aquatic life. In addition to cigarette butts being harmful to nature and non-biodegradable, littering is against Virginia’s Law (Section 33.1-346). Littering is considered a misdemeanor, which means fines of up to $2500 and up to 12 months of jail time.
Still not convinced…38% of all roadside litter is cigarette butts and considering their small size, (compared to other heavily littered items like plastic bottles, fast food bags, and plastic bags) that is a huge number! Another scary statistic is over 100,000 fires per year are caused by cigarettes! (http://www.ehow.com/about_5544763_accidents-caused-smoking-cigarettes.html) Do I even need to mention personal property damage caused by improperly disposing of cigarettes or deaths related to forest or home fires?
Please understand that I am not taking a stand against smoking, I and millions like myself simply want the cigarette butts to be to in their place. I agree that there could be more receptacles in high traffic areas and Keep Virginia Beautiful (KVB), as well as many other organizations, are working to increase their numbers as we speak. I also understand that smokers are now banned to outdoor areas however, neither of these excuses is a reason to litter your butts, please be responsible.
On March 24th, I, along with 100 other volunteers, cleaned up a 2 block area of the Boulevard between the I-95 and the Diamond in Richmond. During this all day clean-up event, a cigarette butt scan was done and the numbers were staggering. Nearly 9000 butts were picked up in 2 blocks! Then on May 13th an additional 5000 butts were collected with over 10% coming from the bus stops along two 3 block sections of Broad Street. I was astounded by these numbers and convinced that more needs to be done to educate my fellow citizens about cigarette litter. Please stay tuned for the launch of a comprehensive KVB Cigarette Litter Prevention Program…Virginia is not an Ashtray!
Please don’t litter! And please keep butts in their place (in the trash cans or receptacles)! If you would like to receive a free pocket ashtray, please fill out the form below KVB will be happy to send you one.