Stow Your Butt and Chewing Gum!

Friends of mine brought me a gift back from a visit to the state of Oregon. It was a couple of a very popular auto bumper sticker seen out on the west coast. The stickers show a burning cigarette butt and contain the message, "KEEP YOUR BUTT IN YOUR CAR!" And beneath that blunt statement is, "The Earth is Not Your Ashtray!" My wife and I immediately put them on the rear bumper of our cars.

The earth is not an ashtray, but many folks don't think about that before throwing their cigarette butts and chewing gum on the sidewalks and streets of our area. Would that we would have a litter receptacle and a cigarette disposal unit on each and every street corner and intersection of our city. Evidently, our political leaders lack the will and the funds to attack the problem of litter in Huntington.

A major portion of street litter comes from cigarette butts and, believe it or not, disposed of chewing gum. The sidewalks and parking lots are covered with petrified globs of chewing gum!

We are currently exploring a new strategy to combat the pandemic of cigarette butts and chewing gum. The photo above shows two available personal pocket ashtrays - one for cigarette butts and one for chewing gum. Don't laugh! They are being used in many cities (world-wide) in an effort to educate people about their personal responsibility in the battle to eliminate the scourge of litter.

Litter disposal equipment for wide-spread usage on streets is expensive and the operational cost to service the equipment on an on-going basis is great. Until we can commit government and private resources to make the needed litter-abatement equipment available city-wide, we must focus on educating our citizens and visitors on their civic responsibility for keeping our neighborhoods' streets and our business districts litter-free.

So, the strategy would include giving the personal pocket ashtrays as a gift to smokers, and folks who enjoy their chewing gum, and encouraging them to become a part of the solution to the problem. They merely reach into their pocket or purse and use their own personal ashtray to stow their cigarette butts and/or chewing gum - until they are able to dispose of it properly. Presto! Litter dramatically reduced!

We deeply believe that together we can accomplish anything we can imagine! We'll keep you posted on what we are calling our "Stow Your Butt and Chewing Gum" strategy.

(Got a better idea? Feel free to give your opinion and/or advice - you can do it anonymously. Just click on "Post Comments" at the end of this posting. Then, click the "Anonymous" button and have your say. Your participation in our community conversation is important! Speak up! Thanks)