In the Works - Community Newsletter In the Works June 2017 | Page 23

We teamed up with Supervisors
Katy Tang and Sandra Fewer to
launch a pilot program aimed at
reducing cigarette litter by placing
butt receptacles in the Richmond
and Sunset districts. The goal is
to get smokers to stop using our
sidewalks and streets as their
ashtrays.
Studies have found that cigarette
butts are the most prevalent
type of litter in San Francisco
and they often are difficult to
pick up because they get stuck
in cracks and crevices. Not only
are they unsightly blight on our
neighborhoods but they also harm
the environment, especially when
they are washed down our sewer
system and into the waterways.
“Flicking cigarettes is a common
habit and many people think
cigarette filters are biodegradable,”
said Shelly Ericksen of the
Surfrider Foundation. “In fact,
cigarette filters are made of tiny
strands of cellulose acetate – the
same plastic as your sunglasses.
They are loaded with toxic
chemicals, including arsenic, lead
and cadmium, poisoning children
and animals that mistake them for
food. When those chemicals leach
into our oceans and groundwater,
they threaten the safety of the fish
we eat and the water we drink.”
The 6-month pilot program,
which launched June 30, provided
for the installation of 40 cigarette
butt receptacles along Irving
Street, Noriega Street, Balboa
Street, Geary Boulevard and the
Ocean Beach promenade. Public
Works street cleaners will empty
the pole-mounted cans.
The Surfrider Foundation’s Butt
Brigade conducted a cigarette
butt count prior to the program
kickoff, and will conduct counts
during the pilot to see if they’ve
been effective at reducing at
cigarette detritus in the vicinity.
If the experiment is deemed
successful, we will look at adding
butt cans to other commercial
corridors throughout the City.
June 2017 - San Francisco Public Works Newsletter