Don't Toss Cigarette Butts

Why do people toss Cigarette Butts out of the car windows? It is illegal in Massachusetts and is also destructive to the environment. Litter also causes property values to decline. Not only that improper disposal of Cigarettes is a leading cause of fires. Massachusetts General Laws Chpt. 148 Sec. 54 prohibits throwing a lighted cigarette or match from a vehicle. Penalty: Not more than 30 days in jail or a fine of NMT $100. You can be summoned to court to face a judge for throwing your cigarette out the window. Cigarette Butts are gross and the litter makes our roads look terrible. Not to mention birds and other animals such as marine life accidentally eat the cigarette butts and end up dieing. Toddlers also have been know to ingest them and have gotten extremely sick and even have died in some cases. Every littered cigarette butt can take anywhere from two to twenty-five years to biodegrade. According to the Center for Marine Conservation, cigarette butt litter accounts for one in every five items collected on cleanups, making it the most prevalent form of litter on this planet. 80% of butts on the ground find their way into our water systems and detract from the quality of our drinking water. Cigarette butts can leach chemicals such as cadmium, lead and arsenic into our marine environment within an hour of contact with water. Cigarette butts have been found in the stomachs of fish, whales, birds and other marine animals which leads to ingestion of hazardous chemicals and digestive blockages.