A while ago, I read that the #1 litter item on our streets was cigarette butts. I found that difficult to believe because fewer and fewer people are smoking these days. So, as I was walking home from my downtown errands yesterday, the issue came to mind and I thought I would see if I could detect any butts on the sidewalk or on the curb and maybe count them, just out of curiosity, as I was walking. I was amazed at what I saw when I took the time to really look. In fact, the passing motorists must have wondered why I was slowing down and looking so intently at the ground. In a one block section of a busy street, I counted 256 butts! When you realise how much it rains here, and how often the street sweepers clean the gutters, this is amazing. I stopped counting but as I turned the next corner, I am sure that there were even more on the next block. A bit of research showed me that the average price of one cigarette is around $.46 so the amount of wasted money on only one city block is $117.00! Now, who is going to get out a map to determine how many city blocks there are in our town, multiplied by 4 (sides) multiplied by 117?
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