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I am amazed by how many cigarette butts are littered on the ground. I began collecting littered butts and in a very short time I’d amassed quite a pile. Being a junk artist I decided to create little artworks. This lead me to research littered cigarette butts, which made me want to find a way to use the artwork I created to educate people about the impact of litter. Litter is both visual ugly but it is damaging to the environment and wildlife.
Not all art is meant to be beautiful and I’m creating art meant to influence people to stop littering and to understand that cigarettes butts are litter. The presence of litter has a variety of impacts on communities ranging from health issues to economic impacts. Most commonly it is seen as an aesthetic issue, but this aesthetic problem impacts other issues in a community. Studies have also found that people are more likely to litter when litter is already present than in an area free of trash (Florida Litter Study, 1998). There is a general understanding that a relationship exists between littering and a lack of ownership or pride in a community (Petrie et al.). Who wants to visit a picnic area, shopping district or park littered with cigarette butts?
Photograph Nickki Lee Hill captured images some of the litter in place. When you view the artwork, you will see how Nickki has taken litter and made it interesting to look at as well as documenting the cigarette butts as they laid in a parking lot in Mount Shasta.
I began seeking funding to support creating a body of artwork with an educational component and received a grant from the Jefferson Economic Development Institute’s (JEDI) Stewardship Fund.
What is the Stewardship Fund of Far Northern California? The Fund is a newly-established fund that has been created to take care of the natural, cultural, and rural environments throughout Siskiyou County, CA. This Fund provides visitors, residents, and businesses with positive opportunities to give something back to or invest in the area they live, visit, profit from, and enjoy. The Fund seeks to develop and maintain a more sustainable and rural economy through its grant giving and public awareness efforts. The fund provides stewardship education for businesses. The Fund is sponsored by the Jefferson Economic Development Institute (JEDI) which is a nonprofit organization committed to empowering people and communities to create prosperity.
www.e-jedi.org
Please contact me for more information, a presentation, or to make a donation. Events and shows will be posted on the Siskiyou Arts Council’s Calendar , (the arts council supports this project)…so register to receive the free Arts-E-Newsletter www.siskiyouartscouncil.org/newsletter.htm or email your address to thelitterbuttproject@gmail.com.
Lauri Sturdivant
530-859-3599
www.siskiyouartscouncil.org/registry/sturdivant.htm
Nickki Lee Hill
714- 356-0897
www.siskiyouartscouncil.org/registry/hill.htm
Cigarette butts are not just ugly—they also present a threat to wildlife. Plastic pieces have been found in the stomachs of fish, birds, whales and other marine creatures that mistake them for food. (www.cigarettelitter.org).
In just one day 230,000 cigarette butts were collected from California beaches during the 2000 Coastal Cleanup Day. Cigarette butts were the number one trash item found (www.surfrider.org/a-z/cig_but.asp).
According to the American Burn Association, about 900 people in the United States die each year in fires started by cigarettes, and about 2,500 are injured. About 100 of the fire deaths each year are children and nonsmokers. Nationally, annual human and property costs of fires caused by careless smoking total about $6 billion. In 1997, there were more than 130,000 cigarette related fires. (www.cigarettelitter.org).
The cost of litter is great—whether the litter is cigarette butts, fast-food containers, beverage containers, or illegally dumped tires. Some of the costs are associated with the manpower it takes to pick up litter. Who picks up litter? Employees of schools, parks, hotels, restaurants, grocery stores, and local governments have to pick up litter, as do volunteers who care about the environment. Other costs are incurred when a cigarette butt starts a fire that destroys a forest, a field, or people's homes. And then there are the costs of "lost revenue." Tourists will not spend their vacation dollars to visit a beach or riverside park that is full of litter and trash. (www.cigarettelitter.org).
There are over 176,000,000 pounds of discarded cigarette butts in the United States each year. www.surfrider.org/a-z/cig_but.asp
Over 4.5 trillion cigarettes are littered worldwide each year. They are the most littered item in the world (www.cigarettelitter.org).
The costs of "lost revenue" are incurred when tourists will not spend their vacation dollars to visit a beach or park that is full of litter and trash. www.earthresource.org
California Department of Transportation, Division of Maintenance spends a total of approximately 60 million* dollars on litter removal. Littering can also cost Californians personally as well because you can be fined up to $1,000 each time you litter. *Litter removal costs are provided by Caltrans Maintenance Program. www.donttrashcalifornia.info/
In just one day 230,000 cigarette butts were collected from California beaches during the 2000 Coastal Cleanup Day. Cigarette butts were the number one trash item found (www.cigarettelitter.org).
There are over 176,000,000 pounds of discarded cigarette butts in the United States each year.
Over 4.5 trillion cigarettes are littered worldwide each year. They are the most littered item in the world (www.cigarettelitter.org).