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The Daily OrangeProperly dispose cigarette butts to clean up campus
By Melissa Valliant
Posted: 10/11/07, 3:32 AM EST Section: Opinion
Tossing a McDonalds bag or a handful of napkins out the window of a car is an appalling form of pollution that should be, and is, illegal. Yet inhaling one last puff of a cigarette and then chucking the butt on the sidewalk is something most smokers don't think twice about. I'm even guilty of it myself.
The worst part about this type of pollution is that there is a small and easy preventative tactic. In case you haven't noticed, Syracuse University has cigarette butt disposals on the sides of many academic buildings. However, either smokers don't realize the existence of these metal cylinders or they just don't care. The tobacco industry's product still covers the ground of our campus.
According to ButtsOut.com, 4.3 trillion cigarette butts litter the ground each year because of people like us. About 25.1 million men and 20.9 million women are smokers, which proportionally means approximately 20 percent of our campus takes part in the tobacco trend.
Imagine how much pollution must occur on campus each day, even when disposals are available at various dorms and academic buildings. Faculty and students want to be able to boast about their gorgeous campus, and many smokers believe their few cigarette butts per day won't make a difference. They do.
I spoke to smoker and senior psychology major Whitney Styer about the problem outside of Watson Hall one day. She informed me she would definitely discard her cigarette remains in a campus disposal if they were within 15 feet. As we concluded the conversation, she flicked the last of her cig onto the concrete steps, despite a disposal being fewer than 10 steps away.
Many people may excuse the nasty habit with the idea of decomposition. Sadly, cigarette butts deteriorate differently from rotten fruit and dead plants. They actually remain sitting on the earth for roughly 12 to 15 years because of an ingredient called synthetic polymer cellulose acetate.
Some manufacturers are working on the creation of biodegradable cigarettes, but the product does not yet exist on the market. It would at least benefit our surrounding environment to dispose in the places made for disposal.
Arela Aharonoff, a freshman business management major and smoker, has only used the SU disposal system a couple of times.
"It needs to be right next to me in order for me to bother using it," Aharonoff said.
The problem seems to mostly be with student and faculty smokers rather than the prevalence of disposal containers. The campus cannot directly change students' attitudes concerning campus cleanliness, and I sincerely wish smokers would consider the harm they are causing.
The establishment of more ashtrays and disposals would be the least the campus could physically do to improve the issue. Instead of the usual trashcans, SU could use outdoor wastebaskets that include ashtrays, and more buildings could have cigarette disposals. Use an ashtray or some kind of dish if you smoke on your porch.
The remnants of Marlboro Lights and Virginia Slims are not exactly attractive additions to the Quad or sidewalks, and everyone would appreciate it if smokers started caring. No butts about it.
Melissa Valliant is a weekly columnist for The Daily Orange. She can be reached at melissa.valliant@gmail.com.
The worst part about this type of pollution is that there is a small and easy preventative tactic. In case you haven't noticed, Syracuse University has cigarette butt disposals on the sides of many academic buildings. However, either smokers don't realize the existence of these metal cylinders or they just don't care. The tobacco industry's product still covers the ground of our campus.
According to ButtsOut.com, 4.3 trillion cigarette butts litter the ground each year because of people like us. About 25.1 million men and 20.9 million women are smokers, which proportionally means approximately 20 percent of our campus takes part in the tobacco trend.
Imagine how much pollution must occur on campus each day, even when disposals are available at various dorms and academic buildings. Faculty and students want to be able to boast about their gorgeous campus, and many smokers believe their few cigarette butts per day won't make a difference. They do.
I spoke to smoker and senior psychology major Whitney Styer about the problem outside of Watson Hall one day. She informed me she would definitely discard her cigarette remains in a campus disposal if they were within 15 feet. As we concluded the conversation, she flicked the last of her cig onto the concrete steps, despite a disposal being fewer than 10 steps away.
Many people may excuse the nasty habit with the idea of decomposition. Sadly, cigarette butts deteriorate differently from rotten fruit and dead plants. They actually remain sitting on the earth for roughly 12 to 15 years because of an ingredient called synthetic polymer cellulose acetate.
Some manufacturers are working on the creation of biodegradable cigarettes, but the product does not yet exist on the market. It would at least benefit our surrounding environment to dispose in the places made for disposal.
Arela Aharonoff, a freshman business management major and smoker, has only used the SU disposal system a couple of times.
"It needs to be right next to me in order for me to bother using it," Aharonoff said.
The problem seems to mostly be with student and faculty smokers rather than the prevalence of disposal containers. The campus cannot directly change students' attitudes concerning campus cleanliness, and I sincerely wish smokers would consider the harm they are causing.
The establishment of more ashtrays and disposals would be the least the campus could physically do to improve the issue. Instead of the usual trashcans, SU could use outdoor wastebaskets that include ashtrays, and more buildings could have cigarette disposals. Use an ashtray or some kind of dish if you smoke on your porch.
The remnants of Marlboro Lights and Virginia Slims are not exactly attractive additions to the Quad or sidewalks, and everyone would appreciate it if smokers started caring. No butts about it.
Melissa Valliant is a weekly columnist for The Daily Orange. She can be reached at melissa.valliant@gmail.com.
Viewing Comments 1 - 2 of 2
geses
posted 10/11/07 @ 9:58 AM EST
When finished but no disposal nearby, smokers should unwrap the cigarette and then put the filter and paper in their pocket for disposal later.
Throwing the used butts on the ground is littering and should be punished as such: cutting off the hand. (Continued…)
Cigars
posted 9/04/08 @ 8:43 AM EST
I've always associated laziness with smokers. As well as being illogical, so it's no surprise what a mess they are making of the planet and simply not caring, just like the mess they are making of their bodies and not caring enough to stop it. (Continued…)
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