Cigarette Butts Now Number One Most Littered Item

By: Bonney Bowman - Email

Updated: Wed 7:03 PM, Apr 18, 2012

A new study by non-profit public health group Legacy says 287 billion cigarettes were sold last year and a large number of those ended up on the ground.

If you walk Lincoln's trails or go to the parks, you've no doubt seen cigarette butts on the sidewalks and in the grass.

The authors of the Legacy study say that's a big problem because cigarette butts are toxic and take decades to fully bio-degrade.

Lincoln Parks and Rec officials say cigarette butts are the number one piece of litter they see, but they're also the smallest.

They say crews don't spend a lot of time cleaning up after smokers so it's not a big problem.

But one Lincoln parent disagrees.

Brent Clabaugh says he had to teach his son not to pick up the butts they'd see all over the playground.

He says it's be better if the parks were safe for kids to play freely.

The city of Lincoln has been considering a smoking ban in all city parks, but Parks and Rec officials say response has been mixed.

Some people are all for the ban but others say it would be impossible to enforce because the city has 7,000 acres of parks.

Officials say a better plan might be to ban smoking near playgrounds and picnic areas, and in the dog parks - just in the places where kids and pets run and play.

No word on when the city might make a decision about that proposed ban.

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