We went out and picked up litter around the campus and around town yesterday. It was not a pleasant experience. In preparation for the event I made sure I got myself some gloves and decided to bring my claw, which I am SO glad I did. I sure did not want to have to touch all that litter with hands even if I did have gloves on. The people in my group was Sarah, Casey and Cassie. Sarah and I decided that I would use the claw to pick up the litter and she would hold the garbage bag. The most litter that we came across was cigarette butts. They were EVERYWHERE! I have seen people all my life, including friends and family members, throw their cigarette butts on the ground or out the car window. I never really understood how much litter those tiny cigarette butts were causing.
According to cigarettelitter.org it is estimated that each year trillions of cigarette butts are littered! Cigarettes are the most littered item in America! And unlike most people think it takes decades for cigarette butts to disintegrate and they often cause fires. The non-profit organization mission is to educate people on the harm of littering cigarettes and how to reduce it.
We also found a lot of trash that people had tossed, such as gum wrappers, plastic wrappers and the like. The most interesting item we came across was a tooth. It was really large, so we don't think that it was human, probably canine. We also found a nasty tshirt near a bar in town. That was where we found the most cigarette butts, broken glass and beer caps. We also noticed lots of cigarette butts near a person's driveway. I'm assuming that they didn't smoke inside their house and instead smoked outside. Which is good you know, not smoking in the house and around others and all, but instead of throwing them in the trash when they are done they throw them outside. While smoking around others will stop second hand smoke and the potential for lung cancer. 69 chemicals in secondhand smoke can cause lung cancer. 3,000 lung cancer deaths occur each year because of secondhand smoke. Throwing the cigarette butts on the ground is not helping people either. So even though not smoking around others is good not throwing your cigarette butts on the ground is also good for other people. Let's not only give half our efforts.
After seeing all the litter that the rest of the class picked up in just two hours was pretty shocking. I have really been adamant about telling people that I know that smoke that they need to stop throwing their cigarette butts on the ground. Even though I used the claw instead of picking up the trash with my gloved hands it still had an impact on me. I never really littered before doing this, but I am going to make sure that I don't do it from now on and I am making sure I tell those around me to stop littering as well.
According to cigarettelitter.org it is estimated that each year trillions of cigarette butts are littered! Cigarettes are the most littered item in America! And unlike most people think it takes decades for cigarette butts to disintegrate and they often cause fires. The non-profit organization mission is to educate people on the harm of littering cigarettes and how to reduce it.
We also found a lot of trash that people had tossed, such as gum wrappers, plastic wrappers and the like. The most interesting item we came across was a tooth. It was really large, so we don't think that it was human, probably canine. We also found a nasty tshirt near a bar in town. That was where we found the most cigarette butts, broken glass and beer caps. We also noticed lots of cigarette butts near a person's driveway. I'm assuming that they didn't smoke inside their house and instead smoked outside. Which is good you know, not smoking in the house and around others and all, but instead of throwing them in the trash when they are done they throw them outside. While smoking around others will stop second hand smoke and the potential for lung cancer. 69 chemicals in secondhand smoke can cause lung cancer. 3,000 lung cancer deaths occur each year because of secondhand smoke. Throwing the cigarette butts on the ground is not helping people either. So even though not smoking around others is good not throwing your cigarette butts on the ground is also good for other people. Let's not only give half our efforts.
After seeing all the litter that the rest of the class picked up in just two hours was pretty shocking. I have really been adamant about telling people that I know that smoke that they need to stop throwing their cigarette butts on the ground. Even though I used the claw instead of picking up the trash with my gloved hands it still had an impact on me. I never really littered before doing this, but I am going to make sure that I don't do it from now on and I am making sure I tell those around me to stop littering as well.
Photos courtesy of Diane Maluso and creativecommons.com. All other information copywrite of Logan Tallmadge'13
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