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Cigarette butts to start being considered litter in Illinois

deactivated-5b1e62582e305 · 2013-08-29 02:37:58

ROCKFORD Beginning Jan. 1, youll face up to a $1,500 fine in Illinois if caught flicking a cigarette butt out the car window, onto the ground or anywhere in public. Cigarette butts are the most commonly discarded piece of waste worldwide, according to Americans for Nonsmokers Rights. An estimated 1.69 billion pounds of butts wind up as toxic trash each year. Former State Rep, Deb Mell, now a Chicago alderman, sponsored HB 3243. The amendment to the states Litter Control Act designates cigarette butts as litter. Gov. Pat Quinn signed the bill this month. Lori Gummow, executive director of Keep Northern Illinois Beautiful, wonders why it took lawmakers so long to deem cigarette butts litter. A carelessly discarded smoldering cigarette butt can cause devastating damage when tossed out a car window onto dry grass, or it can simply remain on the side of a road undetected for years. Cigarette butts are not biodegradeable, Gummow said. Theyre made of cellulose acetate, (a plastic). They get stuck in storm water sewers, and birds eat them and cant digest them. Run over them with a lawn mower, and they just puff out. As unsightly as a cigarette butt is to a well groomed flower bed, Gummow said trash in general can devalue property by 7 to 10 percent. However, creating a law is one thing, enforcing it is another. Gummow said she hopes police officers will take the law seriously. Its the whole broken windows thing, she said noting an unkempt community draws crime. Rockford Park District Police Sgt. John Piccolin said he has no problem enforcing the law. If Im driving down the street and I see someone do that (flick a butt out the window), I would take enforcement action. A first time conviction is a class B misdemeanor with a fine not exceeding $1,500. A second conviction is a class A misdemeanor with fine not exceeding $1,500. Third or subsequent convictions? Thats a class 4 felony, punishable by a fine of $25,000 and imprisonment not less than one year and not more than three years. In 2005, Rockford aldermen passed an ordinance making it illegal to litter within the city or on any body of water, or for residents to allow litter to accumulate on their property. The law is punishable by a fine of $100 to $500 and 10 hours of community service for your first offense. Rockford Police Lt. Dane Person said it is within the officers discretion to charge the offender with violation of the city ordinance or state law.ROCKFORD Beginning Jan. 1, youll face up to a $1,500 fine in Illinois if caught flicking a cigarette butt out the car window, onto the ground or anywhere in public. Cigarette butts are the most commonly discarded piece of waste worldwide, according to Americans for Nonsmokers Rights. An estimated 1.69 billion pounds of butts wind up as toxic trash each year. Former State Rep, Deb Mell, now a Chicago alderman, sponsored HB 3243. The amendment to the states Litter Control Act designates cigarette butts as litter. Gov. Pat Quinn signed the bill this month. Lori Gummow, executive director of Keep Northern Illinois Beautiful, wonders why it took lawmakers so long to deem cigarette butts litter. A carelessly discarded smoldering cigarette butt can cause devastating damage when tossed out a car window onto dry grass, or it can simply remain on the side of a road undetected for years. Cigarette butts are not biodegradeable, Gummow said. Theyre made of cellulose acetate, (a plastic). They get stuck in storm water sewers, and birds eat them and cant digest them. Run over them with a lawn mower, and they just puff out. As unsightly as a cigarette butt is to a well groomed flower bed, Gummow said trash in general can devalue property by 7 to 10 percent. However, creating a law is one thing, enforcing it is another. Gummow said she hopes police officers will take the law seriously. Its the whole broken windows thing, she said noting an unkempt community draws crime. Rockford Park District Police Sgt. John Piccolin said he has no problem enforcing the law. If Im driving down the street and I see someone do that (flick a butt out the window), I would take enforcement action. A first time conviction is a class B misdemeanor with a fine not exceeding $1,500. A second conviction is a class A misdemeanor with fine not exceeding $1,500. Third or subsequent convictions? Thats a class 4 felony, punishable by a fine of $25,000 and imprisonment not less than one year and not more than three years. In 2005, Rockford aldermen passed an ordinance making it illegal to litter within the city or on any body of water, or for residents to allow litter to accumulate on their property. The law is punishable by a fine of $100 to $500 and 10 hours of community service for your first offense. Rockford Police Lt. Dane Person said it is within the officers discretion to charge the offender with violation of the city ordinance or state law.http://www.rrstar.com/news/x1843578270/Butt-flickers-face-hefty-fines-after-Illinois-litter-law-takes-effectThe first thing that came to mind was 'They weren't already considered litter?' but yeah, fvck those people that throw cigarette butts.

HavocV3

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#51 HavocV3

Member since 2009 • 8068 Posts

Should just ban that trash outright.

Pointless habit. Detrimental to the person who does it and the people around them.

11 years ago

THE_DRUGGIE

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#52 THE_DRUGGIE

Member since 2006 • 25110 Posts

This...wasn't litter in the first place?

11 years ago

Murderstyle75

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#53 Murderstyle75

Member since 2011 • 4412 Posts

Should just ban that trash outright.
Pointless habit. Detrimental to the person who does it and the people around them.

HavocV3

So you would be more than happy to help make up for the billions that will be lost in tax revenue from smokers if there ever was a ban? Maybe they could just raise gas prices by a couple more bucks a gallon. Or how about a $6.00 gallon of milk?

11 years ago

Bardock47

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#54 Bardock47

Member since 2008 • 5429 Posts

I am okay with this.

11 years ago

MrGeezer

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#55 MrGeezer

Member since 2002 • 59765 Posts

How were they not already considered litter? Anyway, I'm a smoker myself, but it pisses me off when people flick their butts on the ground. It's really no different than eating a candy bar and just dropping the wrapper on the ground. It's trashy. Smoke if you want to, but smokers can properly dispose of their waste just like everyone else.

11 years ago

GummiRaccoon

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#57 GummiRaccoon

Member since 2003 • 13799 Posts

Cigarette butts are already liter in california.

11 years ago

Gaming-Planet

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#58 Gaming-Planet

Member since 2008 • 21107 Posts

Makes the place look dirty. Keep it in an ash tray.

11 years ago

mrbojangles25

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#59 mrbojangles25

Member since 2005 • 60866 Posts

[QUOTE="Sweetbackhair"]I'm glad that's disgusting that people just flicker them wherever they want to, I'm not a smoker but I had a few cigarettes my life and I've always threw them away when I finished them.Murderstyle75

Well maybe if ashtrays werent removed from every motor vehicle, they wouldn't throw them out the window to begin with. Besides. Trash on the roadside creates jobs. It also provides criminals with community service. And people already pay the government really good money to smoke.

this is what I tell myself on the few occasions I do throw my butts on the ground.

11 years ago

mrbojangles25

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#60 mrbojangles25

Member since 2005 • 60866 Posts

[QUOTE="Sweetbackhair"]I'm glad that's disgusting that people just flicker them wherever they want to, I'm not a smoker but I had a few cigarettes my life and I've always threw them away when I finished them.Murderstyle75

Well maybe if ashtrays werent removed from every motor vehicle, they wouldn't throw them out the window to begin with. Besides. Trash on the roadside creates jobs. It also provides criminals with community service. And people already pay the government really good money to smoke.

this is what I tell myself on the few occasions I do throw my butts on the ground.

11 years ago

nunovlopes

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#61 nunovlopes

Member since 2009 • 2638 Posts

good, that shvt piles up everywhereBossPerson

11 years ago

Jd1680a

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#62 Jd1680a

Member since 2005 • 5960 Posts

In the State of Oregon, you could get fined for throwing a cigarette butt out the car window. Another thing to consider, is cigarette butts dont decompose.

11 years ago

TacticalDesire

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#63 TacticalDesire

Member since 2010 • 10713 Posts

About time.

11 years ago

LJS9502_basic

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#64 LJS9502_basic

Member since 2003 • 180246 Posts

Uh....they are litter.:|

11 years ago

Rich3232

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#65 Rich3232

Member since 2012 • 2628 Posts

When I was a smoker, I tried to carry around an empty pack to dump the butts in. Only time I threw away cigs were the unfiltered ones and those ones decompose really fast since it's all "organic"

11 years ago

Doom_HellKnight

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#66 Doom_HellKnight

Member since 2005 • 12217 Posts

Good. If you're going to pursue that disgusting habit, clean up after yourself.

11 years ago

Lonelynight

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#67 Lonelynight

Member since 2006 • 30051 Posts

Good.
jimkabrhel

11 years ago

brickdoctor

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#68 brickdoctor

Member since 2008 • 9746 Posts

I'm a smoker and completely against littering the butts. They make butt buckets for your car for like $4. It's not that hard, that said doing it four times and being convicted of a felony is a little extreme.

11 years ago

Ricardomz

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#69 Ricardomz

Member since 2012 • 2715 Posts

Asses.

11 years ago

mrbojangles25

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#70 mrbojangles25

Member since 2005 • 60866 Posts

I'm a smoker and completely against littering the butts. They make butt buckets for your car for like $4. It's not that hard, that said doing it four times and being convicted of a felony is a little extreme.
brickdoctor

wow, really? Must have missed the felony part, that is rediculous. We are talking, what? A few grams of litter = felony?

But yeah, don't litter.

11 years ago

ZomBViperKing

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#71 ZomBViperKing

Member since 2013 • 100 Posts

It should of always been considered littering.

11 years ago

worlock77

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#72 worlock77

Member since 2009 • 22552 Posts

Should just ban that trash outright.
Pointless habit. Detrimental to the person who does it and the people around them.

HavocV3

Well shit, why not just ban everything that someone else considers "pointless"?

11 years ago

turtlethetaffer

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#73 turtlethetaffer

Member since 2009 • 18973 Posts

Good, that's how it should be. There are plenty of places to put the butts, throwing them on the ground is no different than littering.

11 years ago

The_Lipscomb

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#74 The_Lipscomb

Member since 2013 • 2603 Posts

When I was a smoker, I tried to carry around an empty pack to dump the butts in. Only time I threw away cigs were the unfiltered ones and those ones decompose really fast since it's all "organic" Rich3232

Good man.

11 years ago