No butts about it — cleaning up cigarette litter good for wildlife and people
Cigarette butts remain the most littered item in the world — including London.
On Monday, a ‘butt blitz’ was held behind city hall in Reg Cooper Square.
Wearing gloves and armed with mechanical picking tools, several city councillors participated in one of several events to collect discarded butts before they’re eaten by wildlife or end up in local waterways.
The filters on cigarettes contain cellulose acetate that can beak down into micro-plastic that contaminate ecosystems and enter the food chain.
A Canada goose nesting behind city hall is expected to directly benefit from the clean-up — even though she hissed at several participants who got too close.
“It’s a big problem in urban parks, [cigarette butts move] into our waterways. It’s really affecting their diet and their health,” said Cole Taylor, an event coordinator with A Greener Future.
Coun. Hadleigh McAlister collects cigarette butts in Reg Cooper Square in London, Ont. on April 15, 2015. (Daryl Newcombe/CTV News London) London’s Clean and Green program has numerous litter collection events schedule across the city.
Coun. Corrine Rahman said 3,500 participants are expected at a number of cleanups later this week in her northwest London ward.
“It’s a bit of education with the campaign, but it’s also to demonstrate civic pride. We all want to live in a community that is clean, looks nice, and it’s something people can do in a very short amount of time,” she said.
Each year the nationwide Butt Blitz campaign aims to pick up one million cigarette butts for recycling.
The cellulose acetate in the filters is recycled into raw materials for new products like composite decking and outdoor benches.
The ash and tobacco are composted using a specialized process.
A ‘butt blitz’ was held in London, Ont.'s Reg Cooper Square on April 15, 2024. (Daryl Newcombe/CTV News London)
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
Trump confronts repeated boos during raucous Libertarian convention speech
Donald Trump was booed repeatedly while addressing Saturday night’s Libertarian Party National Convention.
This type of screen time has the worst effect on kids: experts
According to some experts, there is one type of screen time that is continuously excessive, and it's having a severe effect on our children.
Family of toddler found dead at small-town Ont. daycare no closer to answers after year of investigation
A year has passed since two-year-old Vienna Irwin was found on the property of a home-based daycare in small-town Ontario, but her family says they are no closer to answers of what happened that day.
Grayson Murray, two-time PGA Tour winner, dead at 30
Two-time PGA Tour winner Grayson Murray died Saturday morning at age 30, one day after he withdrew from the Charles Schwab Cup Challenge at Colonial.
Humboldt Broncos crash victims and families react to decision to deport truck driver
The family of one of the victims of the Humboldt Broncos bus crash in 2018 says they are 'thankful' for a decision by a Calgary immigration board to deport the driver of the truck involved.
Fatal plane crash reported near Squamish, B.C.
The Transportation Safety Board of Canada has confirmed it is working with local Mounties and the BC Coroners Service after a plane crash near Squamish, B.C. Friday night.
'God forgives but we don’t': Loud outburst from stabbing victim’s family during sentencing hearing
An emotional outburst in a London, Ont. courtroom Friday disrupted the sentencing hearing of a woman who pleaded guilty for her part in the death of 29-year-old Mohammed Abdallah.
Three dead after vehicle plunged down a 100-foot embankment in Shediac, N.B.
Three people have died after a vehicle veered off the road in Shediac N.B., Friday morning.
Appeal denied for Edmonton soldier accused of trying to kill her 3 children
An Edmonton woman found guilty of trying to kill her three children has been denied an appeal.