Dr. Karen Bell
Keep Liberty Beautiful
As I was walking the other day, I noticed the cigarette butts on the ground. Now, don’t get me wrong. I have seen a reduced cigarette litter in Liberty County and am grateful for that. We still have people who do not yet understand that cigarette butts are litter too!
Cigarette litter is not just unsightly, it’s a burden on our community and a threat to our environment. Join us in the next few weeks as we remind local smokers to “Don’t flick it! Dispose of your cigarette litter responsibly!” The workers who maintain public venues, like parking lots, streets, parks, and local business owners, are often the ones who must clean up cigarette litter dumped on the ground. Let’s all take responsibility for our community’s cleanliness.
Unfortunately, this cleanup is a daily process in business districts on our roads and sidewalks. We can assure you that the workers and volunteers who clean up after smokers have plenty of other things they could do. There is also a high cost in providing that cleanup to ensure these areas around shopping and other business sites remain clean and attractive. That cost for this maintenance is significant and is ultimately passed on to you as the customer. Let’s work together to reduce this unnecessary expense.
Slowly, more and more receptacles specifically for cigarette trash are showing up in public areas. So, you would think that we would see less cigarette litter. Unfortunately, this type of litter is still the most prevalent in the United States and the rest of the world. This prevalence should serve as a stark reminder of the urgent need to address this issue. Keep Liberty Beautiful has free wall or stand-alone receptacles available for any business that needs one. Our goal is always to remind local smokers that cigarette trash is litter when they flick it on the ground. We also want to highlight the appropriate opportunities for taking care of these cigarette butts responsibly. We think most smokers litter because they have never considered the consequences of tossing these butts on the ground. Those butts add up! Every year at least one cleanup volunteer who happens to be a smoker will share their shock at the number of cigarette butts on the ground.
In the last 19 years, several local groups have participated in cigarette litter awareness programs in different sites around our county. These programs have targeted downtown Hinesville, local historic and tourism sites and streets, and some of the busiest gates into Fort Stewart. They involved educational campaigns, community cleanups, and the distribution of cigarette receptacles to encourage responsible disposal.
It is tedious to pick up cigarette litter. Still, counting cigarette litter as volunteer groups do in their litter scan days is even more boring! Litter scans help us determine if awareness, receptacles, and ashtrays in these areas reduce the amount of cigarette waste on the roads and sidewalks. KLB program Liberty County Proud and Beautiful is a recycling initiative to promote awareness and reduce cigarette litter in Liberty County and Fort Stewart.
Because cigarette butts are so small, some people do not think they are littering. By working with volunteers throughout Liberty County to conduct cleanups and recycle cigarette butts, it brings awareness to the cigarette litter prevention program.
The collected cigarette butts recycling process is easy. Empty the contents of your cigarette receptacle or butts collected during a cleanup into a re-sealable plastic bag, disposable plastic container, plastic shopping bag, or garbage bag. Please make sure that the cigarettes are fully extinguished. Do not dump your cigarette waste directly into the shipping box. Do not use paper bags or envelopes to collect your waste. Ship your collection with the free shipping label Keep Liberty Beautiful provides, or contact KLB to arrange to pick it up. Ship the box with the label provided by affixing the free shipping label and dropping it off at a UPS location. For more detailed instructions, please visit our website or contact us directly. All of our roads and streets should be cigarette litter-free! The ground is not an appropriate dumping site for cigarette butts! Dropping cigarette butts in planters, down storm drains, or disposing of them in waterways is littering, too! Ultimately, it is up to you, local smokers! You have the power to keep our community clean. Make an effort to dispose of cigarette litter and all litter responsibly in a garbage can or ash receptacle. Please, not on the ground! Be an environmentally responsible smoker. Don’t flick it! For more information, call Keep Liberty Beautiful at 912-880-4888 or email us at klcb@libertycountyga. gov.
Arbor Day is our next event, and the tree seedling giveaway is only available by reservation. Reserve your tree today at www.keeplibertybeautiful. org! You have until February 17, 2025, or until all trees are reserved!