Pitch-In week, April 22 to 28, 2024, is Canada's largest environmental improvement campaign.
The District of Squamish, once again, provided a great opportunity for residents, students, and community groups to get together and clean up our community. I was part of an intrepid group that braved blustery showers, grabbed bright yellow garbage bags, donned blue gloves and headed into the nooks and crannies of this lovely community.
In a few areas there was rubbish a-plenty but in many areas you had to look carefully to find items to put in our bags. A credit to everyone who takes care to dispose of used items properly. There is obvious pride and commitment in taking care of the environment that we all share and enjoy.
But one thing was striking, the number of butts. Cigarette butts, that is. Once your eye became accustomed to looking for them, you will find them everywhere. On the sidewalks, on crosswalks, in gutters, in flowerbeds, on the river banks, beside trails, beside the water, in the bushes. The list goes on.
It seems that some smokers find it quite acceptable to drop their butt, sometimes still lit, wherever they happen to be when finishing their smoke. This is, perhaps, a habit from a time when smoking was viewed more positively and the environment less so. Butts, particularly, from cigarettes contain many toxins. These toxins can affect animals and pollute our waterways.
Filters are not bio-degradable so they should not end up in the environment. They need to be disposed of properly. Unused tobacco can be composted. Filters can be recycled but this is not readily available. There is a company, Terracycle.com, who offer this service. Smokers use ashtrays to manage butts when indoors. Tossing the butt in a corner or stamping it underfoot would be viewed as poor smoking etiquette. It would be wonderful if the same etiquette applied outdoors.
I have just discovered that there are portable ashtrays that one can use anywhere. They come in various sizes, they cost less than a pack of smokes. They are re-usable and lined with a fire-resistant interior that allows you to quench and store your butt until you can dispose of it properly.
They are available online in great variety. I am unaware if they are available at smoking outlets in town but, if not, this could be a chance to offer smokers this environmentally friendly option. Smokers value our environment just as much as everyone else. The practice of flicking butts away or stamping them underfoot is a behaviour that has been perceived as acceptable.
It no longer is. It needs to stop. The environment will thank us.
Dr John Guilfoyle
Squamish
