Did you know that cigarette butts are the most littered item in America?

Cigarette butts are litter too…So put your BUTTS where they belong!

Each year KTMB volunteers consistently report that cigarette butts are the number one piece of litter found at a cleanup.

Why Cigarette Litter Is Bad: Cigarette litter is extremely harmful to the environment and to our community. It is very unsightly as it gathers in corners, along fences, in storm drain and in the Truckee River. Harmful chemicals reside in the cigarettes and lighting material that can get into our water supply. They contaminate the Truckee River and the fish in it.  Fish will eat cigarette butts! Cigarette butts and ash can easily start fires in our dry desert climate. Furthermore, cleaning up cigarette litter is very time consuming and costly to tax payers!

Prevention: It is not hard to prevent cigarette litter in the Truckee Meadows. By using a portable ashtray when you are not near an ash receptacle you can eliminate much of the litter that gets tossed on the ground. Throw away all of the packaging and lighting material in a trash receptacle. In the car, use a car ashtray or a portable ashtray to contain your butts, instead of throwing litter out of the window and possibly causing a fire. Contact KTMB to get a portable ash tray today!

Facts on Cigarette Litter: Tobacco litter makes up 31.5% of all litter in our parks and other outdoor recreation areas. Overall at least 85% of all butts are destined to be carelessly dropped to the ground. Of that,  37% of all butts that are thrown to the ground go into bushes and shrubbery, 25% are thrown on or around the area where an ash receptacle is placed, and 15% of cigarette butts are thrown into planters (Keep America Beautiful).

What YOU Can Do: Cigarettes are litter too! Take pride in your community and dispose of your cigarettes and their packaging properly! Use ash receptacles, car ash trays and portable ash trays. For a portable ash tray, contact KTMB at 851-5185.

KTMB’s Cigarette Litter Prevention Campaign is possible through a generous donation by Keep America Beautiful.

For More Information:
www.kab.org
www.preventcigarettelitter.org

Check out the video below:
The Truckee Meadows is beautiful butt no one cares (Created by AYLP 2011 for KTMB)