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Grant given to Va. Beach to combat cigarette litter in Sandbridge

The Virginia Beach Parks & Recreation received a grant to help reduce the number of cigarette butts littered at Little Island Park in Sandbridge.
Credit: KGW
File photo

VIRGINIA BEACH, Va. (WVEC) — No more butts!

Keep America Beautiful, the nation's iconic community improvement nonprofit, awarded Keep Virginia Beach Beautiful their Cigarette Litter Prevention Program (CLPP) Grant to help combat cigarette litter at Little Island Park in Sandbridge.

The Virginia Beach Parks & Recreation will manage the grant. The purpose of the program is to create awareness that cigarette butts are the number one littered item in the United States and throughout the globe. The program will encourage people to appropriately dispose of them.

In a 144-acre area, Virginia Beach Parks & Recreation, the Virginia Beach Clean Community Commission (VBCCC), and staff from Public Works Waste Management collected 510 cigarette butts and 9 cigar tips. Nine free-standing cigarette butt receptacles and signs were placed throughout the park in hopes to educate the public.

The cigarette butts collected in the new receptacles will be shipped out to be recycled by a company called Terracycle.

Ninety-five percent of cigarette filters are made up of cellulose acetate, a form of plastic that doesn't degrade quickly. It can take up to 10 years for a cigarette filter to decompose.

As part of the grant, Virginia Beach Parks & Recreation also has an inventory of both pocket and auto ashtrays available for free for those who are interested. To receive a portable ashtray, park visitors should see a staff member at the park office (must be at least 18-years old.)

To learn more about the cigarette litter prevention program, click here.

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