1. K.E.L.C.B.A K icking E very L ittered C igarette B utt A way By Melissa Melchor

3. Background History  Cigarette butts are thrown on the ground because they are not seen as litter or smokers think it is such a small item that it won’t affect the environment.  The most prevalent form of litter are cigarette butts, both globally and in the U.S.  Over 4.5 trillion cigarettes are littered worldwide each year. They are the most littered item in the world.  Cigarettes are not biodegradable, regardless of what companies say since they include many harmful chemicals.

5. Causes of the problem  Smokers usually:  Cannot find a place to discard the cigarette butt, like a public ash tray.  Find it easier to flick onto the ground.  So then they just leave it on the ground.  The chemicals in the cigarette are leached into the ground and are eaten by animals. They are toxic and end up killing the animals, or travel to ditches and down into sewers. The cigarettes end up traveling to oceans where they harm the aquatic animals and affect the water as well.

7. Consequences of this  Present:  Cigarettes are ingested by children and animals once discarded  If they aren’t extinguished, they create fires that can spread for miles  Moved by wind and/or rain to our waterways and the ocean where the chemicals (lead, acetone, arsenic, formaldehyde, toluene, butane, cadmium, ammonia, benzene, & more*) leach and make the waters toxic.

9. Consequences  Future consequences:  Since cigarettes are compose of cellulose acetate (a form of plastic) it can take 2-25 years to decompose, they will be left on the ground where the toxic chemicals will continue to harm waterways and wildlife as well as humans.  Over $41 million dollars are spent annually on littering pickup, cigarettes count for one- third of this.  Seeing littered cigarettes will impact smokers by thinking it’s “okay” to litter too since it is, unfortunately, seen as the “norm”.  The cigarette butts that have not made it into waterways, eventually will.  Recreation becomes less attractive  Litter decreases property value by about 7%

12. Solutions!  Educate community members to be responsible with their cigarette litter.  Provide smokers with an accessible, reusable means to dispose of their cigarette butts responsibly and safely.  Consider local and regional policies designed to significantly reduce the amount of cigarette litter thrown onto the beach by smokers.  Set examples for others by not littering.  Volunteer to help organize a cleanup.  Get involved with Surfrider!

14. Sources http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PM C2697937/ http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PM C2697937/ http://preventcigarettelitter.org/why_it_matter s/misconceptions.html http://preventcigarettelitter.org/why_it_matter s/misconceptions.html http://www.longwood.edu/cleanva/cigbuttimp acts.htm http://www.longwood.edu/cleanva/cigbuttimp acts.htm http://www.nytimes.com/2009/05/29/us/29cig arettes.html?_r=0 http://www.nytimes.com/2009/05/29/us/29cig arettes.html?_r=0 http://www.tobaccofreeca.com/smoking- problem/impact/economic/ http://www.tobaccofreeca.com/smoking- problem/impact/economic/ http://www.no- smoke.org/learnmore.php?id=731 http://www.no- smoke.org/learnmore.php?id=731

15. K.E.L.C.B.A Logo “Don’t be a butthead, kick butts instead!” Made by Melissa Melchor