For Immediate Release
August 20, 2024
Contact: Amy Brewer
Franklin Grand Isle Tobacco Prevention Coalition
[email protected], 802-922-2587

(St. Albans, VT) –For the 9^th year in a row, the Franklin Grand Isle Tobacco Prevention Coalition with help from Downtown Board member and Med Associates VP, Valdemar Garibay, organized 9 different Butt Litter Clean Up events in June through August.  Events happened in Alburgh, Downtown St. Albans, St. Albans Town Industrial Park, St. Albans Bay Park, Swanton Village Green, Swanton Recreation Fields, Georgia Industrial Park, Enosburg Falls, and Richford.  These community volunteer events help to raise awareness about how cigarette filters (or “butts”) are made of a plastic material, contain and release toxins, and remain in our environment for more than 20 years.

Over 200 volunteers of all ages and abilities picked up 29,194 cigarette butts this summer, protecting our waterways, small animals, and small children from these toxic items.  Since these events have been organized starting in 2016, we have tracked the amount of butt litter collected – 273,824 butts!  The exciting news is, according to Coalition Coordinator, Amy Brewer, “For the third year in a row, we have seen real declines in the amount of butt litter cleaned up. There were 13,000 fewer butts in 2023 than 2022 and 5,200 fewer in 2024 compared to 2023.  In almost every community, we picked up fewer butts!”

Brewer also shared, “It is exciting that our community’s policies that create tobacco free parks and recreation areas or increase efforts at keeping parks clean such as Lincoln Park in Enosburg Falls, Main St. Park in Richford, Alburgh Community Education Center and its parking lot, Taylor Park in St. Albans, and the Bay Park in St. Albans Town, all resulted in significantly fewer butts than in years past.”

These clean ups are fueled by Volunteers, including more than 20 Med Associates employees, volunteers from the Knights of Columbus Council 297, Rotary Club of St. Albans, and VT Department of Health, as well as many individuals, families, and organizations.  Butt Litter Clean-Up co-coordinator, Valdemar Garibay, is passionate about this initiative.  He shares, “I started helping during COVID back in the summer of 2020.  This is our fifth year, and it is awesome to see that every year fewer cigarette butts are picked up.  This work is important, and we are helping to make a difference by communicating the dangers of plastic filters, health concerns, and helping to clean the environment.  I am grateful for the wonderful group of volunteers that come out each year who make a difference – setting the example for the next generation.  I look forward to helping again next year.”

Municipal officials, youth-serving organizations, and Franklin County Stormwater volunteers also participated.  In addition to Industrial Parks, community parks/recreation areas, and sidewalks and roadways, volunteers cleaned up along rec paths, shopping plaza parking lots, and fishing access areas.  Most areas cleaned up were near either Lake Champlain, the Missisquoi River, or streams/waterways that lead there.

Areas that remain of concern include outside large workplaces and bars, along sidewalks and curbs, and in places where folks may step outside their homes to smoke.  That’s not a surprise as many Vermonters have made the indoor spaces of their homes and worksites free from secondhand smoke which protects others in those spaces well.

For any worksite, apartment building owner or manager, or municipality, if you’d like to explore new and effective ways to reduce tobacco litter while supporting individuals on their quit journey, please don’t hesitate to reach out (802-524-1296 or [email protected]).

If you do use cigarettes and are not yet ready to make a quit attempt, please be sure to dispose of your cigarette butt properly.  Extinguish them on a shoe or sidewalk and take the butt to the nearest trash can.  The Franklin Grand Isle Tobacco Prevention Coalition also has free reusable pocket ash trays – if you need one, please find us on Facebook or email Amy Brewer at [email protected].  Lastly, if you are thinking of quitting, now’s always a great time to try.  Visit www.802Quiits.org or call 1-800-QUIT-NOW.  Free, virtual Quit Workshops can be found at MyHealthyVT.org.