The Surfrider Foundation is offering free cigarette containers for the outside of

businesses that allow smoking in an effort to keep cigarette butts out of the

environment.

The non-profit organization received a grant from Keep America Beautiful, which, in

turn, got a grant from “big tobacco” for a program to keep cigarette butts out of the

environment.

Surfrider says cigarette butts are one of the most dominant forms of litter as

they are made of materials that are hard to biodegrade and contain

tobacco toxins.

Surfrider is asking merchants who have regular smokers outside their businesses,

such as bars and restaurants, to adopt a cigarette disposal box, made of thick aluminum,

near their business.

By adopting the box, merchants would volunteer to empty out the box when full and

put its contents in a container that would be mailed to a recycling center.

For more information, contact Shelly Ericksen at the Surfrider Foundation at

hotyb@sf.surfrider.org.