Mondays Matter: Week 20

Taken from the book Every Monday Matters: 52 Ways to Make A Difference by Matthew Emerzian and Kelly Bozza

DONT FLICK YOUR CIGARTTE BUTT

Cigarette butts are the most commonly littered item.

They have been found in the stomachs of fish, birds, whales, and other marine creatures that mistake them for food.

Annual cigarette butt litter, end on end, measures more than 2 million miles. That's 337 roundtrips from LA to New York.

ACTION STEPS

1. If you smoke today, don't litter the butt.

2. When you see a friend, neighbor, co-worker, or stranger smoking ask him or her to discard the butt in an appropriate receptacle.

3. If you see someone flick a cigarette butt on the ground, politely ask them to pick it up, or do it yourself.

4. Consider posting the above statistics at designated smoking areas of your workplace.

5. Utilize a pocket ashtray or purchase one for somone who smokes.

6. Don't smoke!

Why is it that people who wouldn't even think about throwing trash into the street don't hesitate to flick a cigarette butt? This is one of my biggest pet peeves. I just cringe when I see someone do it, or driving behind a car and the driver flicks his butt out the window and it lands on my car. When we had our basement remodeled over the winter months, once the snow had melted in the spring, we found bunches and bunches of butts in our lawn all around our driveway where the guys were working. Needless to say, we were not happy. Maybe I should have provided a can full of sand for the guys, but frankly it never crossed my mind. Something to think about for next time. I have never ever smoked, and smoking frankly repulses me. I don't get it and for smokers to think that littering doesn't apply to their cigarette butts, just drives me nuts. I realize that not all smokers litter, but unfortunately, too many do and hence they all get the bad rap. How many forest fires have been started by a dropped cigarette butt? We will never know, but I am afraid it has been many. So, please, if you are reading this and it applies to you, STOP DROPPING YOUR CIGARETTE BUTTS ON THE GROUND! Thank you!