Cat Ryan submits-
Cigarette butts are right up there as the most common and yucky litter. Gloucester offers a quick ride right into our ocean waters. We were required to clean our sidewalk daily in front of our business or be fined. Some smokers would flick one right in the midst of our dustpan and broom without missing a step.
Smoker trash is just an unfailing source of __________. You fill in the blank. There’s a big blind spot.
Business owners, employees, property owners, tenants: a lot of what we pick up downtown are piles of the same cigarette brand. Case in point:
Award for BUTT FIEND on Parsons goes to a proud Parliament smoker. Residents including kids are out here with gloves picking up your butts. We’re not talking the random passerby flick. We’re talking regular and routine breaks where you just sit there dropping.
Big shout out to Dan Leaman and Mike Carter today with Dan Leaman Landscaping. Thank you for coming back again to help with Parsons Street.
In life, look for the helpers. Donna Ardizzoni, Patty Amaral, and many volunteers –See Donna’s post for this Saturday’s clean up
Good Morning Gloucester 
Thank you Joey for this post..we are trying to go to a rotary meeting and the chamber is putting in their newsletter with regards to this issue. Thanks again
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There is such a range of reasons why it continues happening despite impact studies on clean up costs, environmental impact, etc.
Can you ask … have the businesses tried to collaborate on waste removal (better price, synchronized pick ups) Maybe if there was an easier or affordable alternative to the dumpsters it could help (they attract weeds, trash)
FYI respondents of a downtown cultural district survey a few years ago gave great feedback–I know the businesses will have great input/ideas. Look forward to hearing what you find out, Donna. I’ll call – catherine
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Super Post Catherine! Thank you!
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The cigarette trash is really gross, as is much of the other trash, but luckily the picker-upper-people are a pleasure to work with.
On the rare Saturday mornings that no grand kid is playing baseball or hockey I join in. Unfortunately wherever we go, there is plenty to fill the yellow bags.
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They are wonderful. Smokers a pleasure, too. It’s a group effort.
Was so happy Dan and Mike could help that day
– Catherine
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So if I toss my McDouble wrapper (biodegradable) on the ground I’m potentially subject to a littering fine. But someone “flicks” their lit (non biodegradable), saliva infused butt on the ground and it’s not considered littering? I don’t get it.
Here is a “Not a good solution but at least a stab at it solution” solution. We all have smart phones with almost instant photography unless you’re old like me and have to fumble through the buttons. Let’s take a pic to the offenders “flicking” their butts to the ground and post them. No commentary, No accusations, Nothing but the hard truth; “The butt and the butt flicker”. Maybe some Public Non-verbal Shame may change the inconsiderate culture of those who smoke and I guess feel that they have a right to “flick” their butts wherever and whenever they want. We can have a Glousta Butt flicker Wall of Shame. And let’s not confuse the word flicker with our beloved yearbook “The Flicker”
What do you think?
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David Cox Main St Antiques has some ‘flicker’ for sale
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I can understand the impulse but like everyone have friends and family who smoke. I wrote ‘fill in the blank’ because of the blind spot we all have– not so much to blame (except the guy that flicked it as I swept!) Perhaps photos will reveal wind patterns or rain off accumulation spots, frequency of build up (Saturday nights by bars), other data.
We can find examples that more receptacles help — and the opposite. Ditto planters sadly encourage ash tray duty. Some towns add a specific fee to the retailer license to recover some of the clean up costs–not sure that makes sense.
Even if our business wasn’t subject to those clean up fines, we would clean up our street level sidewalk because it looked better. More trash collects more trash, so every bit of picking up and chipping in helps. Maintenance is part of the discussion. Neglected common areas where weeds and other invasive vegetation accumulate garbage (wind strewn or dropped) also encourage cigarette dumping.
It could be worse — I think it’s even grosser when its doubled: someone puts their cigarette butts in the remnant liquid of their soda can or water bottle and leaves that stew pot.
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Leaman Landscaping does the yard care at our joint and I highly recommend them. They do great work.
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yes. Good egg part runs in family. Dan’s folks volunteered lots of hours watering downtown
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It’s real bad our way too – A big thanks to folks out there making a difference each thank you for showing this! The shopping mall outside gate is terrible if it were not for the shopkeepers cleaning it all up each day…I wish I had the answer here for a cure tossing them I don’t! Really ticks me in the children’s park where small children pick up things and I have gotten into some heated conversations with some adults who should know better in both languages I Know enough to be dangerous:-O 😦 Dave
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