Cigarette Butts
Oct. 21st, 2007 10:16 am![[identity profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/openid.png){kind=small}
lusciousnichols.livejournal.com posting in ![[community profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/community.png){kind=small}
davis_squareI'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?
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?
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Date: 2007-10-22 08:55 pm (UTC)Also, I suspect littering is illegal. Have you tried asking local police to enforce existing laws?
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Date: 2007-10-22 10:00 pm (UTC)D'Artagnon, is it just me or does anyone else think you have the suave look of a Musketeer?!
I think a previous poster had the idea of contacting the Alderman, which seems the best course of action. To me, it would be preferable to ask for cooperation from those who litter, instead of targeting a group of people for violations and enforcement.
One other poster mentioned that the mayor is already targeting litter and smoking by passing a law that makes it illegal to smoke in public parks and playgrounds. That includes *all* city parks, whether there is grass or not, like Statue Park(The Cigarette Butt Capitol of D^2).
While I support a law that supports public health and the environment, I'm not at all sure I understand the enforcement the good Mayor has in mind for this new law of his. Does anyone know if he's provided a backbone to this new law?