Smith EVS 300 - The Planet is not our Ashtray

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The Planet is not our AshtrayMegan QuirkAbstractMethodologyResultsThe Planet is not our Ashtray Megan Quirk May 5th, 2004 EVS 300 Smith CollegeAbstract They are small. Tossing one away does not seem like a big deal; yet they start to build up, complaints begin, and finally people start to wonder about the possible environmental effects. City officials recognize that cigarette litter is a detriment to communities based on clean-up costs, clogged sewage systems, degraded water quality, and risk of fire danger. What, then, is the attitude towards this problem at Smith College, from the perspective of student smokers, grounds keepers, and the administration? To address this question, I examined six main aspects in my project. My investigation began with background research on the extensiveness of cigarette litter around the globe, effects of cigarette waste on the environment, and national movements dealing with this issue. To examine the problem locally, I began to randomly sample butt waste at personally chosen high density sites. Next, questionnaires were distributed to randomly picked student smokers, with short interviews conducted about their cigarette disposal habits and ways in which negative discarding habits could be influenced. Along with these, time was spent observing behavior of smokers when discarding cigarettes in areas with clearly marked disposal units. Several interviews were also conducted with the director and supervisor at Physical Plant with regards to the college’s policy on cigarette disposal, clean-up, and any current plans for the future. Through Smith’s website for the College Council on Community Policy, it was also helpful to examine past college actions around the smoking issue. Based on my research, observations and dialogues, a clear demand exists for more disposal units to be situated strategically around campus. Furthermore, the majority of people expressed that while having awareness about the issue is beneficial it will not be guilt about the environment, as much as convenience of ashtrays, which motivates people to change their behavior.Introduction Not many people think much of it when carelessly throwing one small cigarette butt on the ground. Multiply this by the 48 million adults in America who smoke by the number of cigarette breaks a day. Then, combine these figures with polices such as the increasingly common indoor smoking bans. Thus, cigarette butts emerge as ubiquitous forms of trash. In fact, a study done by the U.S. government in 1998 showed that Americans smoked 470 billion cigarettes in one year, leaving an estimated 176 million pounds of cigarette butts behind (Arizona Republic, 2002). While many people have the mistaken belief that cigarettes are made of cotton and so are biodegradable, most cigarette filters are actually composed of cellulose acetate. This is a form of plastic that persists in the environment for anywhere from 18 months to 10 years (Novotny, 1999). But even if cigarette filters degraded rapidly, they are hazardous in that lit cigarette butts initiate fires, and the harmful toxins in them can harm infants and animals. The National Capital Poison Center found that the ingestion of more than three cigarette butts can lead to serious health symptoms in a child (Novotny, 1999). A second study of the toxicity of cigarette butts established that just one butt in two gallons of water is deadly to water fleas, which are crucial links in the aquatic food chain (Register, 2000). I believe that when most people become empowered by awareness and provided with a convenient solution to a hazardous behavior, they would be inclined change their routine. Emphasis must be placed on the purpose of this project, which is not focused on the harms of smoking itself, but rather on the optimal solutions for dealing with waste from a common habit. It is common knowledge that littering is wrong, yet cigarette-butts are not often viewed in the same way. Perhaps because they are so much more visible, people tend to not absent mindedly pollute college campuses with coke bottles. Neither soda nor cigarette manufacturers have control over the finaldisposal place of their products. As beverage manufacturers invest in litter prevention campaigns however, the tobacco industry should too. Various suggestions include anti-litter messages on packaging and advertisements, the distribution of small portable ashtrays, the placement and maintenance of outdoor receptacles (Novotny, 1999). While this is valuable information for future movements, the best place for me to start was the attitudes and behaviors of my local community, Smith College. Evidence indicates that more cigarette butts are accumulating outside of buildings due to the popularity of indoor smoking bans (Register, 2000). Smith follows this trend with a policy shift towards cigarette smoking: as of August 2002 a total ban was implemented on smoking in all student residences. There is no smoking allowed within 20 feet of any academic, administrative, or residential building, and to promote these policies, ashtrays were removed from directly outside of buildings. In addition, the Northampton City Regulations prohibit smoking in all “public places” and “work places,” which means that regardless of whether student dorm rooms are considered to be “private residences” for purposes of the City Regulations, common areas of the residence halls (including living rooms, hallways, dining rooms, stairways, and restrooms) fall within the definition of public and/or work places (CCCP, 2001). This research, in addition to personal observations of cigarette butt waste, the disappearance of trash cans with attached ashtrays, and confusion over the benefits & success of the 20 foot rule, was the basis for an investigation of this. The research questions were: what had happened to the trash cans on campus, what was being done to replace the missing cigarette containers, how effective is the 20 foot rule, what are some campus attitudes and knowledge in the area of this problem, and finally what could then be done to alleviate this problem?Methodology The main aspects to my project were gathering of background information, random sampling, surveys, behavioral observations, interviews with college employees, and research on recent college policies. After searching for articles and websites on the internet that are devoted to problems of cigarette butt


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