Some Progress and Resources ...324 days to go

Finally connected with a few companies who are interested to participate in clean ups and the campaign for reducing littering. More meetings are scheduled.

In the meantime let me share some resources you may want to use in your own campaign:

Cigarette Litter—IMPACTS

The impacts of cigarette litter are many

• Toxic chemicals leach out of cigarette butts & can kill small animals
• Fires (destroys habitats for animals, homes; Economic costs of fires)
• Ingestion by children and small animals which mistake butts for food
• Cost of cleaning up litter & lost revenue from visitors
  
  

Toxins in Cigarette Butts

Cigarette butts are not just ugly—they also present a threat to wildlife. Pieces have been found in the stomachs of fish, birds, whales and other marine creatures that mistake them for food. So ingestion of plastic cigarette filters is a threat to wildlife.

Click here to read an article that was published in the August 2000 issue of the American Littoral Society journal, The Underwater Naturalist.

Fires caused by cigarette butts

According to the National Fire Protection Association, cigarette-caused fires result in more than 1,000 civilian deaths, 3,000 critical injuries (many among firefighters), and $400 million in direct property damage each year. (Source: Albany Times Union, June 13, 2003)

In January 2001, a motorist driving along Interstate 8 in San Diego County flicked a cigarette butt onto the center median, sparking a fire that eventually burned more than 10,000 acres, destroyed 16 homes and charred 64 vehicles.

Ingestion of Cigarettes and Cigarette Butts by Children

Click here for an article by the U.S. Center for Disease Control

The CDC studied 146 children aged six months to two years who had ingested cigarettes or cigarette butts. One-third of them experienced illness—the most common symptom reported was vomiting. Most ingestions occurred in homes where children were exposed to smoke and where cigarettes and ashtrays were kept within the reach of children.

The Cost of Litter

The cost of litter is great—whether the litter is cigarette butts, fast-food containers, beverage containers, or illegally dumped tires. Some of the costs are associated with the manpower it takes to pick up litter. Who picks up litter? Employees of schools, parks, hotels, restaurants, grocery stores, and local governments have to pick up litter, as do volunteers who care about the environment.

Cost of picking up litter—Some Examples:
"School officials say landscapers who should be planting flowers and pruning shrubs are spending time instead picking up butts on the 15,000-acre campus: Some 13 landscapers spend 10 hours a week picking up discarded cigarettes at an estimated cost of $150,000." -- Philadelphia Daily News, March 27, 2000 on Penn State Cigarette Litter Costs

Click here for newspaper articles about how communities are trying to reduce cigarette litter. Up-to-date articles about cigarette litter and other tobacco-related topics can be found on the tobacco.org website. Click here for information about workplace smoking bans, and how they impact cigarette litter in the environment.

Still where I started-what about you? .....342 days to go

I achieved nothing over the last 10 days. My scheduled meetings did not materialize for one reason or another. So I re-scheduled. The clean up I wanted to organize for September 17th had to be postponed as my own work got in the way.

That's ok I say. I will find a suitable date to organize a clean up.

In the meantime here are some resources for you:

Getting involved is simple. Groups or organisations in any city, town or village across the globe can join Clean Up the World. Registration is free* for non business/corporate organisations and renewable annually. Just visit the Clean up the World activities website to register and put your group and its activities on the global environmental map!

*Business/Corporate Organisations Please Note: Clean Up the World requests Corporate or Large Company Members to pay a Membership fee of USD$200 to help us support not for profit Members. We will contact you in relation to this after you have registered.

with my best wishes, Christiane