CLICK HERE TO SEE BUTTS!

Stinky, filthy butts. See all the varieties below ↓

These were collected on a 1/16th mile stretch on a woodsy Pennsylvania road. You can see the exact location through Flickr by clicking on the photos - if you wish. While I enjoyed the early morning walk with some coffee and beautiful weather, I didn't enjoy the thought that this continues on throughout our entire road system worldwide. How many naive animals mistake this for food?

Sidebar: I'm not a hypocrite; I'm guilty of this. More motivation to quit.

Here's some little known - or cared about - facts:

"There is a lot of misinformation out there regarding cigarette butt litter... they are not biodegradable... The acetate (plastic) filters can take many years to decompose."


"What happens after that butt gets casually flicked onto the street, nature trail, or beach? Typically wind and rain carry the cigarette into the water supply, where the toxic chemicals the cigarette filter was designed to trap leak out into aquatic ecosystems, threatening the quality of the water and many aquatic lifeforms. Cigarette butts may seem small, but with several trillion butts littered every year, the toxic chemicals add up!"

"The best way to educate the public about this serious environmental problem is to start with people you know." -CigaretteLitter.org

Butts on 62, a set on Flickr.

In Over My Head

So today I spent a portion of the afternoon looking for a good documentary on Netflix and came across Bag It; and got more than I bargained for. While the 1st half had me a bit depressed, the rest revived my motivation.

Afterwards I set off on a mission to see how long it would take me to find just 1 plastic bag out there floating around (it didn't take long). But I figured while I was out on my photo hunt I should pick up the treasures along the way and dispose of them somewhat properly. I grabbed a disposable glove and a grocery shopping bag (guilt-ridden after watching Bag It) and headed out. Let me take this opportunity to say I found out I wasn't prepared for the amount.

Here's some of what I found (Enjoy the map view here):

TerraCycle would not be impressed with this one.

Starbucks (I think)

Single-use cups make you think they're cardboard and biodegradable. But they're lined with plastic.

Definitely a Marlboro community

Sweet Tomatoes anyone?

41 pounds of junk mail a year per American.

That's PER American, not per household.

Just a styrofoam cup.

A 1986 EPA report on solid waste named the polystyrene manufacturing process as the 5th largest creator of hazardous waste. EarthResource.org

Gatorade again

Are the plastic Gatorade bottles recyclable?

"Yes. Additionally, we’re constantly working to reduce the amount of material we use to make a bottle. In fact, a 20-oz. Gatorade Thirst Quencher bottle weighs 10 percent less than it did in 1998." Gatorade FAQ

Glass Bottle.......................... 1 million years

Time it takes for garbage to decompose in the environment.

Not exactly sure what this is, but sure it didn't belong there.

Thanks for checking it out. Stay tuned for more.

Day 1: Local Litter

I'm now on an adventure to see how much litter I can find and photograph (and properly dispose of).

I'm not here to judge, just observing and raising awareness.

Here's a sample:

More to come as soon as I figure out how to best mark the locations on a map.

Here is the account they'll come from.