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The Juneau Clean Air Coalition donned brooms and dustpans to clean downtown streets for Litter Free Clean Up Day on May 10.

"We'd heard complaints about the cigarette butts downtown so we chose to clean up that area as our community service project," said Wendy Hamilton, Tobacco Program Coordinator for the National Council on Alcoholism and Drug Dependence.

"The amount of cigarette butts was surprising, especially considering the City Street Maintenance crews clean the sidewalks and streets seven mornings a week in the summertime," she said.

Most people don't think of cigarette butts as litter, but in fact, cigarettes are the most littered item in America and the world. Research shows that individuals who would never consider littering an aluminum can or a piece of paper may be littering cigarette butts.

"Cigarette butt litter is a worldwide environmental threat," Hamilton stated.

According to the 2006 Ocean Conservancy's Coastal Cleanup report, cigarette butts accounted for almost one-third of all items collected. Cigarette filters are made of materials that take several years to degrade and are loaded with toxic chemicals such as lead, arsenic and cadmium which pollute our waterways.

To address the problem some areas have instituted fines for flicking a butt and other locations have banned smoking in public outdoor areas. Other suggestions for reducing cigarette butt litter are using cigarette butt receptacles, carrying a small portable ashtray or "field stripping" the cigarette and throwing the filter away later.

The City of Juneau has installed several "butt receptacles" in the downtown area, both on the sides of garbage cans and several light poles. The butt receptacles are made of fire-safe metal and are emptied daily by the City Street Maintenance crews.

• Wendy Hamilton is the Tobacco Program Coordinator for the National Council on Alcoholism and Drug Dependence.