rootninja

Throwing cigarette butts on the ground should rank amongst the seven deadly sins. The problem is that it’s so easy to carelessly flick that tiny little butt out of a car window.

Out of sight out of mind, right?

Every action has a consequence; those carelessly discarded butts don’t grow roots and sprout pretty little flowers. Instead, they sit around patiently waiting for rain to wash them into the closest storm drain or whisked away to the nearest lake, stream, or river. There they can be mistaken for tasty snacks by the local wildlife, release toxins into the environment, or just be plain unsightly and cost taxpayers’ hard earned money to clean up.

According to a study by the Texas Department of Transportation, nearly 400 million cigarette butts were collected from Texas roadsides in 2009. That’s 400,000,000! The study concluded that just 11% of Texans are responsible of 43% of the states’ litter by way of cigarette butts.

What to fight back? The “Don’t Mess with Texas” website has a feature that allows you to report a litterer.

Next time you see someone toss a cigarette butt out the car window, jot down their information and submit it. Don’t Mess with Texas will send the litterer a litterbag along with a letter reminding them to keep their trash to themselves.