October 31, 2005

Did you know cigarette litter has been identified as the most littered item in the country, according to Keep America Beautiful stakeholders? The goal of Keep America Beautiful’s Cigarette Litter Prevention Program is to “effectively and noticeably reduce cigarette litter in communities around our country,” began Carrie Gallagher, Program Director for Keep America Beautiful. In 2002, Keep America Beautiful began researching cigarette litter and started field-testing in three cities in 2003. Nine cities were included in the expanded 2004 field-testing and the program launched in 2004. Keep America Beautiful defined cigarette litter as all cigarettes, including partially smoked cigarettes, cigarette butts, lighting materials such as matches and lighters, as well as the packaging itself, which has been dropped to the ground and not in the proper receptacle.

The pilot program was a multi-dimensional approach, which included a Public Service Message in the local media, placement of Ash receptacles at transition points, distribution of pocket ashtrays, cigarette litter scans to measure impact and observations of adult smokers in neighborhoods. From the pilot program, Keep America Beautiful developed the Guide to Cigarette Litter Prevention. The guide outlines the four strategies for cigarette litter prevention, enforcement of anti-litter laws, installation of ash receptacles, encouragement of the use of pocket ashtrays and changing behavior through public education. “The new guide is interactive, responsive and informative, all which will help prevent cigarette litter,” concluded Ms. Gallagher.

For more information on Cigarette Litter Prevention, log on to www.usmayors.org/mwma or www.kab.org