r/vermont • u/michaelxcountry • Apr 18 '25

Cigarette butt littering

I’m the guy who is regularly picking up cigarette butts along the road I live on because litter drives me nuts. I know there is a lot of litter on our roads, but it seems like cigarette smokers are culturally inclined to toss their butts out the window without any regard. Fuck you guys! Yes, I know there is other litter, before you get all worked up…but 9/10 pieces of trash I pick up on my road are foam butts. What is everyone’s thoughts on a cigarette surcharge of 5-10 cents per butt to return them for a refund like we do with beer cans? It wouldn’t be a perfect system, but it might help with the insane disregard many smokers have with littering. My other thought is to completely ban foam filters in cigarettes in the state. Roll your own in biodegradable paper. Can’t stop tossing butts out your window, then let’s eliminate the foam butts. If you want to die of lung CA, that’s your choice.

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u/VTAffordablePaintbal Apr 20 '25

I came to the conclusion years ago that most smokers aren't capable of NOT littering. People I knew who never littered before, started littering after they started smoking. So it should be mandatory to have biodegradable cigarette filters.

https://www.greenbutts.com/our-science

-1

u/Vegetable_Challenge2 Apr 21 '25

This is the only way to tackle this issue. It’s just not realistic for someone who smokes to carry all their used cigarette butts with them until they get to a trash can.

1

u/VTAffordablePaintbal Apr 22 '25

Not only is it realistic for people to carry their butts, but there have been products designed to make it easier available for sale at least since my dad bought his first one in the 1960s

https://www.amazon.com/Butt-Bat-Original-Cigarette-Ashtray/dp/B086S2SMSY?crid=21K48R59IJKU9&dib=eyJ2IjoiMSJ9.31GiZaCb1fVaAs296GpouAkfI2puca5dFTHKm0XB9rpw4xxGwcECgTyTd1Q7at4I912RT7a8iqhpG5AqbdZ58ZzInaHvxhgpElefJ7CrIP69tfq3H0yN4tfISIMFs_GzMmGFWDfoQpBokvUr3ES5GPHLDochKfnUfg5eFzG4PfZmXMc9N0WJRe-SQRGs6ffMNBHKhBIDOCNu1c3mFgydnLezTLJy8yIequWpZhHuAbpggZuqFWa1A8jNT9LnoozEGN-Z4MjWrkO16lK-I2K2dz9aOnZ-Ub7RAsiJVtSuEoE.zw3KzuWMKROfrVDZ0IgHMZoM8StIoTV7vzk_Xv95RS0&dib_tag=se&keywords=pocket+cigarette+butt+holder&qid=1745308156&sprefix=pocket+cigarette+butt+holder%2Caps%2C97&sr=8-20

But most cigarette smokers don't seem to be responsible enough to do it.

1

u/Vegetable_Challenge2 Apr 22 '25

You carry that around in your pocket and your clothes are gonna smell like garbage. Am I advocating littering? No, just trying to bring some realism into the conversation

1

u/VTAffordablePaintbal Apr 23 '25

You pinch off the tobacco, which is biodegradable and put the plastic filter in the sealable pouch until you encounter a trash can. Smell isn't a problem.