Cigarette Butts

[lusciousnichols.livejournal.com]

I'm not sure why I'm even posting this, perhaps it's just to vent or maybe, just maybe, someone has an idea?

I think we live in the coolest Square there is, and I'm really proud of it. But it makes me incredibly sad to see thousands of cigarette butts littered all over Davis Square. And to me, it's disgusting. It smacks of trashy, ill mannered and anti-green. And I don't need to go into the reasons why it hurts the environment, right?!

I read recently that 19% of Massachusetts smokes, which is better than the national average of about 25%.  I know this can't be true, but it seems like all 19% are doing their smoking in Davis Square. And I've never, not even *once*, watched a smoker dispose of their cigarette butt anywhere but on the ground. Smokers throws their butts to the ground, wherever they are, and whenever they like. Why is that okay? I guess I don't see this as any different from regular trash. Litter is litter.

I'm expecting the backward good old fashioned 'people-have-been-doing-this-forever-so-just-get-over-it' responses, but if we really were an unprogressive people, there would still be smoking indoors in public places and children would still be chewing lead paint off of window sills.

I'm not looking to denigrate smokers, I'm looking for solutions. Does anyone have any ideas to alleviate the litter?

Comments

[jennyelfenmass.livejournal.com]

Pretty much everyone in Singapore who smokes carries one, mostly because the fine for littering/tossing butts on the ground is really severe. But yeah, I haven't seen them in the States all that often.

[plumtreeblossom.livejournal.com]

Empty Altoids tins work fine for that.

[magid.livejournal.com]

Second this.

[perspicuity.livejournal.com]

i know some very socially conscious smokers. they do it because they enjoy it. some of them are even vegan. go figure. they're also into carrying altoids or similar tins, and throwing their waste away. this is at least very cool.

i've asked a couple smokers who drive why they always have the cig near their cracked window - "don't want to stink the car up too much" and the same reason for "why do you throw the lit butt out the window". THEY don't want stinky butts in their car. okay!

i have also seen and asked, a nice old lady, who dumped a coffee can of butts from her car (parked next to me), why? "oh, it's too much trouble to throw them out and bring the can back to the car...". oiy. besides, everyone KNOWS they just breakdown right? it's paper ;P

#

[plumtreeblossom.livejournal.com]

Something that very few people know is that cigarette filters can be recycled and turned into insulation. There's a process by which they are shredded, cleaned and ridded of their odor, and turned into insulation. I met a man who spent an entire Lalapalooza gathering butts, and he made insulation for 2 rooms of the house he was building.

That said, I second all sentiments that no one should EVER throw a lit but out a car window. I won't even smoke in cars at all. Or anywhere indoors including my house, for that matter.

[mkb-technologie.livejournal.com]

or film canisters