According to Alberta Environment, more than seven per cent of garbage collected throughout the province is tobacco related. This can vary from cigarette cartons and wrappers, to cigarette butts disposed of after smoking.
Here in Drayton Valley, as in many towns and cities, sidewalks and parking lots are often littered with these esthetically displeasing items. But the habit of some smokers to toss their cigarettes on the ground is not just an issue when it comes to maintaining the beauty of a town; it also goes against fire safety, community by-laws and the environment.
Once the snow has melted and the warm weather arrives grassy areas around town become dry and highly flammable. It is during these times that fire services remind people that they need to be careful when having fires on their property. Although this is important to remember it is not the only way uncontrolled fires can be ignited.
"The concern we have, especially at this time of year, is the fact that cigarette butts can smoulder up to three hours after they've been discarded," warns Tom Thomson, Drayton Valley/Brazeau County Fire Services Fire Chief. "That's enough time, especially in the very dry conditions — we call it fine fuel — that it can start a grass fire."
Due to the fact that throughout the years several fires have been linked to discarded cigarettes many people are trying to help prevent these cases from happening again. One of these people is community by-law officer Gord Chammen, who is always on the lookout for people who toss their butts onto the grass. Although there are no laws pertaining to cigarette butts specifically, they do fall under littering by-laws and if warranted Chammen will give a ticket.
Not only concerned about fires, Chammen is also dedicated to preserving the beauty of Drayton Valley. In order to do this he holds businesses, landlords and residents responsible for ensuring that their property or business is clean and free of discarded cigarettes. If he believes one area is getting to be an eyesore he will approach those who are responsible for the property and ask them to clean it.
"Under the nuisance, bylaw you have to keep your property clean," he says. "Whether it's your own personal property or a business property, it must be clean and free of debris and cigarettes are included in that."
Depending on the area of town, some places will get a greater build up of cigarette butts than others; these areas tend to be around restaurants and bars, as people have to go outside to smoke.
Designed to absorb toxins out of the smoke people are inhaling, filters make up the majority of the butt and hold chemicals such as tar. When these filters become wet the chemicals are released into the environment in which they are sitting which is then carried into our ground water and rivers. Although they do effect our environment, especially in cases where animals are mistaking them for food, several sources with Albert Environment stated that such affects are not significant, especially in the big picture of environmental pollutants.
"You will get some small amounts of leaching that will get into the water where there are large amount of cigarette butts," says David Mussel, planning and partnership co-ordinator with Alberta Environment. "But it's a tiny fraction of everything that's there so I would never say, that there's a chemical or organic water quality issues caused by cigarette butts and that it's significant compared to anything else out there affecting our water."
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