Motorists in Pearland are asked to use their ashtray and not the roadway.

Theresa Jordan and her litter team pick up 5,900 butts at Keep Pearland Beautiful’s Cigarette Litter Awareness Day. (l-r) Thanks to volunteers Trevor Rumbaugh, Katie Cunningham, Theresa Jordan and Roger Toll.

Giovanni Vargas and Cody Crittendon pick-up plenty of “butts” at Pearland’s Hall at the Keep Pearland Beautiful Cigarette Litter Awareness Day

Cigarette Litter Awareness Day 2010

On February 6, 2010 Keep Pearland Beautiful held its sixth annual Cigarette Litter Awareness Day. Thanks to several weeks of rain, KPB did see a decrease in the number of “butts” from previous years. I wish I could say that our awareness campaign is paying off, but I don’t think we’ll take credit for that today.

Thanks to twenty volunteers, fourteen community service workers and two KPB staff, we collected 16,000 butts as compared to 37,000 in 2009!

The Keep Pearland Beautiful cigarette litter campaign is part of a national focus by Keep America Beautiful to tackle cigarette litter. KPB has placed ads in local papers, talked to school groups and civic organizations included the “Don’t Leave Your Butts Behind” concept in our semi-annual clean-ups, conducted litter surveys at community events and placed signs at targeted intersections. Our goal is to grow awareness but we need more help from volunteers; KPB wants to include more transitional points for collection each year. Would your business be willing to display a poster or place an ash receptacle at the door? Now that Pearland is a “No Smoking” city, smokers will be looking for ways to dispose of their cigarette butts. KPB will be looking at ways to create awareness about this growing litter problem in our city.

Last year Keep Pearland Beautiful targeted seven transitional points which included Pearland Parkway at FM518, Westminster at FM518, Old Alvin at FM518, the Justice of the Peace office at Grand and Pear St., McLean at FM518, Main St. at FM518 and Austin St. at FM518.

This year because the ground was so wet, KPB cleaned these locations: Pearland at FM518, the Pearland Neighborhood Center and parking lot, Pearland City Hall and Library, FM518 at Westminister, Grand Blvd. in front of Alvin Community College, Mykawa at FM518, Post Office parking lot, FM518 at Main, the JP’s office and the Pearland Service Center. The two most littered spots were Mykawa and the Post Office, with 5,900 butts picked up that day. All volunteers received a special sweat shirt as a reward for a hard morning’s work and all the work was done by 10:30 a.m.

Counting the butts was made easy, thanks again to volunteer and Keep Pearland Beautiful board president Helen Beckman. Mrs. Beckman actually counted out cigarette butts into a one gallon milk jug and marked the jug in increments of 100. Volunteers JoAnne Knodel, Erin Steele, Billie Jo Moffett, Ashley Adams, Katie Cunningham, Trevor Rumbaugh, Cody Crittendon, Giovanni Vargas, Shariq Hussain, Theresa Jordan, Roger Toll, Helen Beckman, Lesa Brownstein, Betty Mitchell, Janet Eastburn, Delores Fenwick and Ashley Jones used these specially marked jugs to calculate just how many butts were collected.

“And why would anyone care how many butts are on the streets of Pearland?” one might ask. Here are just a few of the reasons as stated in previous columns:

• Cigarette butts are not biodegradable; this is a myth. The filter of a cigarette is made of cellulose acetate and can take from 5 to 8 years to biodegrade.
• Cigarette butts can be a fire hazard. Numerous fires are caused by or related to careless extinguishing of cigarette butts indoors, thrown from car windows, and thrown on the ground by pedestrians.
• Cigarette butts contain harmful chemicals that can be passed into the ground and water where they present a threat to small children and wildlife who mistake them for food.

Remember that excuses for throwing out cigarette butts are just that – excuses. Just because everyone else does it does not make it anymore pleasant that trillions of “butts” are landing on our Texas highways each year. Another myth: Prisoners will pick up our trash. You the tax payer need to know that each year municipal and state governments spend millions of dollars paying contractors to pick up trash on Texas roads. The last really ‘lame’ excuse: That is what they get for making me smoke outside. Smokers need to get used to the idea that more and more public places are banning smoking indoors. A pocket ashtray is available to any smoker that wishes to drop by the offices of Keep Pearland Beautiful, 2947 E. Broadway, Ste. 300.

Please mark you calendars for our next event, a Hazardous Material Collection Day, March 13th. Keep Pearland Beautiful staff and volunteers will be on hand at the Stella Roberts Recycling Center , 5800 Magnolia, to assist staff in collecting hazardous materials from citizens of Pearland, Friendswood, Brazoria County and those with a prepaid voucher. If you have questions or comments, please call the offices of KPB at 281-652-1659 or email cowles@keeppearlandbeautiful.org.

From the Keep America Beautiful website comes some interesting facts on cigarette litter: Americans smoked fewer cigarettes in 2005 than at any time since 1951, yet cigarette butts remain the most littered item-in the U.S. and across the globe. Source: Clean VA Waterways http://www.longwood.edu/cleanva/cigarettelitterhome.html.

Dropping cigarette butts, matches, lighters, and packaging to the ground is littering.

Why do smokers litter? Mostly, it’s limited ash receptacles and lack of awareness about the environmental impact. New ordinances are also moving more smokers outdoors. In Pearland we have a smoking ban, but there seems to be some confusion about where a business can place an ash receptacle.

Here’s why cigarette litter matters: it's unsightly, costly to clean up, and harmful to waterways and wildlife.

Get the facts: When it comes to cigarette litter, we all pay.

Residents and businesses “pick up” the tab. Cigarette litter has to be cleaned up. This requires additional sidewalk and street sweeping, greenway and park maintenance, storm drain cleaning, and increased maintenance of storm water filters. And business owners bear the expense of cigarette litter cleanup around entrances, exits, sidewalks, and parking lots.

Community quality-of-life suffers. Not paying attention to quality-of-life issues can result in a decline in a city’s foot traffic, tourism, business development, and housing. Focusing on small improvements, like reducing cigarette litter, creates safer and more economically vibrant communities.
A cigarette butt dropped to the ground seems insignificant. But follow that butt as it’s carried off by rain into storm drains and eventually to streams and rivers. It now adds up to a big impact on the places we live.

Cigarette litter creates blight. It accumulates in gutters, and outside doorways and bus shelters. Increasing amounts of litter in a business district or recreation area create a sense that no one cares, leading to more community disorder.

Cigarette butts don’t disappear. 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. Source: http://www.longwood.edu/cleanva/cigarettelitterhome.html.

Filters are 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 pose a hazard to animals and marine life when they mistake filters for food.

According to an Australian EPA survey, three quarters of respondents say that littering is a 'very important' or 'extremely important' environmental issue. Yet, 56% of debris found in the U.S. originated from land-based activities such as picnics, festivals, sports, and days at the beach. Litter washed from streets, parking lots, and storm drains also contributed to this category of debris. Source: Ocean Conservancy, July 24, 2006.

Only 10% of cigarette butts are properly deposited in ash receptacles-the least likely item to be placed in a receptacle. Source: Beverage Industry Environment Council. Community Change Pty Ltd. Understanding Littering Behavior in Australia, June 1997.

Why do many smokers litter?
Smokers discount the impact. A 2008 survey of over 1,000 smokers found that 35% toss five or more cigarette butts per pack on the ground. Source: iQ Research & Consulting, Keep America Beautiful Pocket Ashtray Study, January 2008. Because a cigarette butt is small, smokers tend to overlook the consequences of littering. Source: McGregor Marketing for Keep Australia Beautiful, 1998.

Cigarette litter research in Australia found that many smokers:

• Don’t believe littering their cigarette butts is inappropriate behavior. Some believe they’re acting responsibly by dropping cigarettes to the ground and stepping on them to extinguish them.
• Consider dropping butts into gutters or storm drains a safe way to extinguish a cigarette. Blame their littering on a lack of well-placed bins for cigarette butts. Over 80% of smokers said they would properly dispose of their butts if suitable bins were available. Source: Sweeney Research for Tobacco Information Centre and Keep South Australia Beautiful, 2000.
• Blame their littering on a lack of well-placed bins for cigarette butts. Over 80% of smokers said they would properly dispose of their butts if suitable bins were available.

Most cigarette littering happens at “transition points.” These are areas where a smoker must extinguish a cigarette before proceeding, such as outside retail stores, hotels, office buildings, and at bus shelters and train platforms. Messages about cigarette butt litter and ash receptacles at transition points are an important catalyst to changing behavior.

Join KPB volunteers on February 7, 2009 at 8:00 am at our office, 2947 E. Broadway. The first 30 volunteers will receive a special gift for helping with the attack on cigarette litter in Pearland. Comments may be sent to cowles@keeppearlandbeautiful.org or call the office at 281-652-1659.