economic impact of cigarette butt litter
When it comes to cigarette butt litter, we all pay.
Residents and businesses “pick up” the tab. Cigarette butt litter has to be cleaned up. This requires additional sidewalk and street sweeping, greenway and park maintenance, storm drain cleaning, and increased maintenance of storm water filters. And business owners bear the expense of cigarette butt litter cleanup around entrances, exits, sidewalks, and parking lots.
Community quality-of-life suffers. Not paying attention to quality-of-life issues can result in a decline in a city’s foot traffic, tourism, business development, and housing. In fact, the presence of litter in a community decreases property values by a little over 7%.¹ Focusing on small improvements, like reducing cigarette butt litter, creates safer and more economically vibrant communities.
Recreation areas become less attractive. Tobacco litter represents nearly 32% of all litter in outdoor recreation areas.¹ Cigarette butt litter on beaches and waterfronts, at ball fields and parks, picnic areas and hiking trails decreases the appeal of these natural escapes. It also creates fire hazards, impacts local wildlife, and eventually contributes to lost tourism and revenue.
Learn more about why cigarette litter matters:
- How does cigarette litter affect the environment?
- What are some common misconceptions about cigarette litter?
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I’m amazed how the businesses are passionate about this program. They tell me that they don’t like sweeping cigarette butts, and they don’t want to see them in the gutters either. |
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Ann Ennis, |
Litter clean up costs the U.S. more than $11.5 billion annually, and businesses pay 80% of that, or about $9.1 billion.¹
The "Broken Windows" theory holds that little things matter. Fix problems such as a broken window or littered streets while they're small, and they're less likely to escalate.
“According to public works officials, Virginia Beach exceeded its budget to clean storm drains by more than $3 million – and cigarette butts were a significant component in these costs.”²
The Virginia Department of Transportation spends about $6.5 million a year on litter control on nearly 57,000 miles of interstate, primary and secondary roads. In addition to what VDOT collects, Adopt-a-Highway volunteers pick up about 3 million bags worth of trash annually from 14,000 miles of Virginia’s roads.
¹ "Litter in America" 2009 KAB Research
²Dan Baxter, chairman of Virginia Beach Clean Community Coalition