NO BUTTS ON THE BEACH SAY SURFERS

With today being ‘National No Smoking Day’ surfers are hoping to see at
least one day of the year when cigarette butts don’t get dropped on UK
beaches.

But come tomorrow it is likely that the UK’s beaches will again be treated
as a giant ashtray for the unaware to stub out their cigarette butts. As a
result of the continuing rise in beach cigarette litter, Surfers Against
Sewage (SAS) are calling on local authorities to support our No Butts on the
Beach campaign, which is co-sponsored by board-riding company O’Neill and
the No Butts Bin Company.

Did You Know:

Cigarette Butts are the most littered item in the world.

Cigarette Butts are one of the most commonly found litter items on  beaches
around the UK.

Cigarette Butts are not biodegradable. 95% of all cigarette butts (filters)
are made of cellulose acetate (a plastic).

SAS are today asking local authorities to make a ‘No Butts On the Beach’
pledge. For this they must ensure bathing beaches in their district have
dedicated static butt bins with accompanying signage at beach entry/exit
points so the public can use them to dispose of their butts responsibly.

Andy Cummins, SAS Campaigner says, “Chemicals in cigarette butts left on a
beach can and do leak out causing pollution of the water. They can also end
up in the stomachs of fish, birds, whales and other marine creatures, which
mistake them for food and then die from suffocation, starvation or
poisoning. Local authorities can play their part by supporting the No Butts
on the Beach campaign”.