Butt, Seriously… AASU Cigarette Butt Clean-Up: twelve students, one hour.

Cigarette butts are the most frequently littered item…  They comprise 38% of all US roadway litter & 30% of litter at “transition points” (where smokers must discontinue smoking before proceeding)  College campus landscape departments can spend up to $165,000 in cigarette clean-up & litter control (clean-up of discarded cigarettes, emptying ashtrays, etc.)

Cigarettes are NOT biodegradable & will persist in the environment  Cigarette filters are made of a non-biodegradable plastic, cellulose acetate, which may take decades to break down into smaller components  They also contain hazardous chemicals and toxins which can leach into the environment, cause bioaccumulation up the food chain and damage commercial fisheries and water supplies

Cigarettes can be mistaken as food by animals, fish & small children…  A comprehensive study conducted by the Clean Virginia Waterways Coalition found cigarette filters in the stomachs of bird fish & other marine creatures  Playgrounds & beaches are common areas for incidents of small children ingesting cigarette butts

AASU Cigarette Butt Clean-Up Areas – 8 Sections  1) The Sports Complex - including the Sports Center, Tennis Courts/Athletic/Intramural Fields and the P5 Parking Lot  2) The one side of Library Drive between the Greenhouse and the P1 Parking Lot  3 & 4) 2 halves of the main academic buildings quad  5) Compass Point (Housing)  6) Fine Arts/Ashmore/University Halls  7) The Armstrong Center  8) University Crossings & Terrace

In ONE HOUR, we collected 4,003 cigarettes!!! Section Section Section Section Section Section Section Section

Campus Cigarette Butt Litter “Hot Spots”  Vicinities around benches, sometimes just outside entrances  The Compass Point Gazebo between the 4000 & 8000 Buildings  Very surprisingly, next to ashtrays  Plant beds around the Sports Complex  Near bike racks  Curbs

What can you do to help?  If you are a smoker, please deposit your cigarette butts in a public/personal ashtray  Avoid smoking on campus or better yet…  QUIT SMOKING There are free on-campus smoking cessation classes available to you & if you are uninsured and ready to quit, you may be eligible for FREE Nicotine Replacement Therapy (in the patch or gum form) through the GA Tobacco Quit Line: STOP  Advocate for a smoke-free campus