In Hall County a prevention program “Keep Hall Beautiful” was launched. This program aims at the number of cigarette buts reducing through installing ash and cigarette butt receptacles around the downtown Gainesville square.

After the ban on public smoking introducing, cigarette buts become a problem of many states. This problem appeared because it is prohibited to smoke in almost all indoor places and smokers light up on the streets as alternative.

Cigarette buts turn to something more serious than a simple aesthetic problem. Marsha Fletcher, director of Keep Hall Beautiful, said a single cigarette may be tiny, but the cumulative volume is overwhelming.

“About 34 percent of all litters picked up during community cleanups are the cigarettes,” she said. “Yet many people don’t think of cigarette butts as litter.”

“The butts are difficult to pick up because they’re so small and there’s so many of them,” said Gainesville City Council member George Wangemann, who leads monthly roadside cleanups.

Buts are a cause of many fire accidents and also they need time to be decomposed.

“A lot of people think cigarette butts are biodegradable, but they take a long time to break down (in the environment). They’re also dangerous, because if people throw them on grass it could start a fire,” added Wangenmann.

The prevention program launched in Hall County is sponsored by its parent organization, Keep America Beautiful. Grand amounts to $2,500 which mostly is planned to be spent on and cigarette butt receptacles.

“Our pilot location will be downtown Gainesville, because there’s been so much sprucing up going on in that area,” Fletcher said.

In order to understand the significance of the problem, volunteers counted the cigarette buts. They found about 4,000.

“Of course we found some around the restaurants, as you’d expect,” Fletcher said. “But the majority was found in the middle of the square, in the green area where the benches are.”

Group plans to establish purchased ash receptacles around the square. First one will beautify the Monkey Barrel restaurant.

“These will be very visible,” said Fletcher. “They are tall, freestanding, but can be bolted down.”

Keep America Beautiful also donated more than 1,000 pocket ashtrays for businesses to distribute to their customers.

“They’re shaped kind of like coin purses, but can be tightly closed and put into your pocket or purse,” Fletcher said.

After some week of ash placing, volunteers will do another ride to count the cigarette litters on the square.

“In other cities that have tried this program, they’ve seen a reduction in cigarette litter,” Fletcher said. “If it works downtown, we’d like to expand it to other areas, such as small city parks, bus stops. Basically anywhere there’s a bench where people spend a lot of time sitting, you’re going to find cigarette butts.”

“Ideally, you’d like for people not to smoke,” Wangemann said. “But providing a place for them to discard the butts is better than doing nothing at all.”