Hey smokers, heads up - it's now illegal to toss your butts on the street in the state of Illinois. Don't worry though, the ol' commonwealth has yet to pass a state-wide law surrounding cigarettes, but here are some interesting facts about ciggy-litter via Americans for Non-smoker Rights:
Cigarette butts are the most commonly discarded piece of waste worldwide. It is estimated that 1.69 BILLION pounds of butts wind up as toxic trash each year, creating an enormous environmental, health, and economic burden.
Additionally, the Rockford Register Star spoke with a Lori Gummow, executive director of Keep Northern Illinois Beautiful, about the new effort to curb cigarette waste in
“Cigarette butts are not biodegradable,” Gummow said. “They’re made of cellulose acetate, (a plastic). They get stuck in storm water sewers, and birds eat them and can’t digest them. Run over them with a lawn mower, and they just puff out.”
As unsightly as a cigarette butt is to a well-groomed flower bed, Gummow said trash in general can devalue property by 7 to 10 percent.
And here's an informative video to make you feel really bad about every butt you ever threw on the ground:
Here in Virginia, there is a vague law dealing with "inflammable materials" being thrown near certain types of land -
"It shall be unlawful for any person to throw, toss or drop from a vehicle moving or standing on a highway any lighted smoking material, lighted match, lighted material of any nature, or any bomb or device liable to set fire to inflammable material on the ground while in or near any forestland, brushland or field containing inflammable vegetation or trash."
More specific steps have been taken to make cigarette-littler illegal, and they have failed every year. Local Delegate Joe Morrissey (D) has tried for a number of years to pass laws that would address the issue - here's a copy of the 2013 version of the bill, which would have put the penalty at $100:
Littering; cigarettes, civil penalty. Includes cigarettes specifically in the category of things deemed litter for purposes of criminal punishment for improper disposal of trash. The bill also provides that in lieu of the imposition of the Class 1 misdemeanor criminal penalty, the court may order the defendant to perform community service in litter abatement activities. If the offense involves a cigarette or cigarettes, the court shall order the payment of a $100 civil penalty payable to the Litter Control and Recycling Fund established in § 10.1-1422.01 in addition to the imposition of such community service.
We've reached out to several authority offices to see if anyone has actually been arrested for flicking their butts. And we'll let you know if we hear back - but until then, how would you feel about a $1,500 fine for every butt snubbed on the ground.