Cigarette litter is ButtUgly™ and way out of hand! Look around at any public walkway, any curb at any intersection, just about any public area, playground or body of water and you’ll see cigarette butts. Listed as the most littered item in the world, the cigarette butt is by far the most over-looked form of pollution known. As ‘over-looked’ as the problem is, cigarette litter is in our face. Cigarette butts are everywhere!

Cigarette Butts aren’t just Ugly. They are toxic too! Tons of toxins from trillions of littered cigarette butts add up year after year. With each rain, the paper wrap around the filters disintegrates and the non-biodegradable toxin laden fibers are then released onto the ground and into our water sources. Basic life forms in our food chain are then killed by the carcinogenic chemicals the filters once captured. Ultimately, every littered butt has a negative impact on our environment.

Cigarette litter costs municipalities millions of dollars each year. Locally, Asheville spends thousands of tax dollars every month picking up cigarette butts up alone. There’s an obvious need for an aggressive approach to curb the cigarette litter problem.

Enforcement is one approach. States are now effectively stepping up their anti-litter efforts and slapping casual cigarette litterers with heavy fines. Programs like Swat-A-Litterbug are now in place to enable the public to report litterers to local authorities.

Education is most important. Teaching young people at an early age is essential. Providing an informative, fun and humorous way for students to carry an anti-litter message home to family and friends is a grand step toward litter prevention and promoting responsible behaviors. ButtUgly.org was started to encourage the public to get involved in making a difference in their communities. The message is: Littering - no matter the size of the item being littered, is not acceptable. The intent of ButtUgly.org is to simply deliver the message in a big, educational and effective way.

If you would like to assist your community in kicking the litter butt habit, check out our online store of ButtUgly™ promotional items. If you have ideas you would like to share, please let us at ButtUgly.org know what you are thinking. We are working toward a ButtUgly™ community resource website which will allow us the opportunity to post your projects, pictures, products and links.

Help ButtUgly.org expand its efforts. We’re working on a broader range of products, props and public displays designed to place the ButtUgly™ message in every household! We are raising awareness and funds to put an end to cigarette and other forms of litter in our communities. Your contributions will make a huge difference. Be sure to check out our ButtUgly™ links and our first ButtUgly™ Video.

Click here to copy and print ButtUgly posters. Post in store windows, bulletin boards and…

contact: thebuttuglyguy@buttugly.org

In association with Quality Forward; ButtUgly.org is a 501(c)3 nonprofit entity.

Visit …a Solution to the Pollution!