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

[bombardiette.livejournal.com]

And when everyone here is done crying about the cigarette litter, come by my house. You'll see that the sidewalk, parking lot and YARD grow lottery tickets. Not cigarette butts.

While I try to be very conscientious about my cigarette butt disposal habits, I'd like to know what prompts everyone to just drop their losing scratch tickets on the ground and walk away...to the point where the last time I cleaned them up, they FILLED a 30-gal trash bag. I'm willing to bet I could police the entire Davis Square area of cigarette butts and not come close to that. Environmental impact what?

You wanted us outside to smoke? Great. We're outside. Now maybe providing more than the random butt receptacle in front of businesses where cmokers tend to congregate most might be a good start? Maybe?

Oh, and like it or not, I do know people who intentionally toss them on the ground because they're being spiteful about the whole smoking nazi thing. Pointless protest in my opinion, but there you go.

[derekp.livejournal.com]

Good call on the scratch tickets...

[bombardiette.livejournal.com]

I'd say thank you but I'm afraid that I've added another untermensch to your grand plan and for that, I feel badly.