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Cigarette Litter

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New Bill Introduced: Littering will cost you!

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Exciting Legislation coming up during this session of the General Assembly.  Delegate Joe Morrisey (D) is submitting a revision of our current litter laws! To read the full proposed bill, click here: HB114_01.03.12

Basically, he is taking away the prison time and up to $2500 fine and simplifying the litter laws to be very specific about how you dump your litter and trash, including from your vehicle, to be a flat $100 fine and community service ( to pick up the very litter disposed of improperly in the first place).  I think this is much more enforceable and cut and dry; you litter you pay$100!

This is definitely geared toward cigarette litter on the roadways.  Cigarette litter makes up 38% of all litter and costs our state millions of dollars to clean-up, not mention the countless fires started by cigarette butts.  Litterers beware, if you toss that butt…you are going to pay!

PICTURE ABOVE: Shows litter removed from a 1 mile stretch of 288…that’s unacceptable!

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Virginia is not an Ashtray!

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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.

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Staunton River State Park WINS $1K Grant

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Staunton River State Park has been awarded a $1,000 grant in the Cigarette Litter Prevention Category.  The Park was severely damaged on April 16th by an F2 tornado and is rebuilding many of their facilities.  The grant money will help in moving the park along.

Virginia’s State Parks as a whole have one big common problem; cigarette litter.  Staunton River State Park is no exception.  Their camping and picnic areas are often heavily littered with cigarette butts.  Using this grant, Staunton River SP will address their litter problem in 2 key areas; first, they will initiate an adult educational campaign to focus on the benefits of a clean environment, and secondly, they will install additional cigarette butt receptacles in high traffic areas to help decrease the litter problem.  Staunton River State Park wants to become the leader in a clean, healthy, and beautiful Virginia park system and the first step is starting a comprehensive cigarette litter prevention campaign.  For more information about Staunton River State Park or their project, please contact Joshua Ellington at 434-572-3694.

The KVB grant program focuses greater resources and attention on individual localities throughout the Commonwealth and how they are addressing the issues of litter prevention, recycling, waste reduction, beautification and education.

KVB provided the opportunity for government, non-profit and/or service organizations in Virginia to apply for one of (30) $1,000 grants in three different categories: 10 grants for plastic bag reduction and recycling, 10 grants for cigarette litter prevention, and 10 grants for community greening and beautification.  These grants are made possible by KVB’s partners, Walmart and Waste Management.

The mission at Keep Virginia Beautiful is to engage and unite Virginians to improve our natural and scenic environment.  Our goals include becoming the leading statewide voice, providing a framework for improved communication and collaboration, cultivating and supporting sustainable programs, and engaging citizens by linking them to volunteer opportunities and information through these 5 impact areas:  Litter Prevention, Waste Reduction, Recycling,Beautification, and Environmental Education.

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$1K Grant for Friends of Norfolk’s Environment

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The Friends of Norfolk’s Environment has been awarded a $1,000 grant in the Cigarette Litter Prevention Category.  The KVB grant program focuses greater resources and attention on individual localities throughout the Commonwealth and how they are addressing the issues of litter prevention, recycling, waste reduction, beautification and education.

The Friends of Norfolk’s Environment will be launching a new cigarette litter prevention campaign in the busy residential, business, restaurant and boutique district of Historic Ghent.  The merchants and residents of Ghent have seen a huge increase of cigarette litter in their historic community due to Virginia’s new smoking laws, which prohibit most indoors smoking and places smokers outdoors in front of businesses and restaurants.  The overall goal of the Friends’ campaign is to increase awareness, change attitudes and behaviors of the Ghent Smokers and provide them with new opportunities to dispose of their cigarette litter properly.  For more information about the Friends of Norfolk’s Environment or their project, please contact Lisa Renee Jennings at 757-620-0400.

KVB provided the opportunity for government, non-profit and/or service organizations in Virginia to apply for one of (30) $1,000 grants in three different categories: 10 grants for plastic bag reduction and recycling, 10 grants for cigarette litter prevention, and 10 grants for community greening and beautification.  These grants are made possible by KVB’s partners, Walmart and Waste Management.

The mission at Keep Virginia Beautiful is to engage and unite Virginians to improve our natural and scenic environment.  Our goals include becoming the leading statewide voice, providing a framework for improved communication and collaboration, cultivating and supporting sustainable programs, and engaging citizens by linking them to volunteer opportunities and information through these 5 impact areas:  Litter Prevention, Waste Reduction, Recycling, Beautification, and Environmental Education.

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Radford University Snags $1,000 Grant

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Radford University has been awarded a $1,000 grant in the Cigarette Litter Prevention Category.  The KVB grant program focuses greater resources and attention on individual localities throughout the Commonwealth and how they are addressing the issues of litter prevention, recycling, waste reduction, beautification and education.

Radford University will initiate a comprehensive Cigarette Litter Prevention and Education Campaign for their students and faculty with the grant monies provided.  This initiative will promote both health awareness and better waste management practices of cigarettes on the Radford University campus.  Their goal would be to educate the student body and faculty about the proper disposal of cigarettes and the various impacts such wastes have on the environment. Plans include producing maps of all campus cigarette butt receptacles, adding new receptacles, and printed educational materials about the dangers of smoking and its negative environmental repercussions.  For more information about Radford University or their project, please contact Michael Rose at 804-519-3312.

KVB provided the opportunity for government, non-profit and/or service organizations in Virginia to apply for one of (30) $1,000 grants in three different categories: 10 grants for plastic bag reduction and recycling, 10 grants for cigarette litter prevention, and 10 grants for community greening and beautification.  These grants are made possible by KVB’s partners, Walmart and Waste Management.

The mission at Keep Virginia Beautiful is to engage and unite Virginians to improve our natural and scenic environment.  Our goals include becoming the leading statewide voice, providing a framework for improved communication and collaboration, cultivating and supporting sustainable programs, and engaging citizens by linking them to volunteer opportunities and information through these 5 impact areas:  Litter Prevention, Waste Reduction, Recycling, Beautification, and Environmental Education.