I strongly support an ordinance banning the sale of single-use cigarette filters in any and all jurisdictions in Santa Cruz County. I ask the elected officials of Capitola, Unincorporated County, Santa Cruz, Scotts Valley, and/or Watsonville to take swift action to become the first jurisdictions nationwide to draft and pass such a policy. Why?

THEY’RE AN ENVIRONMENTAL PROBLEM

- Cigarette butts are the most littered item in the world, and locally they are washed into the Monterey Bay and contribute to a common form of litter in the world’s oceans
- Cigarette butts are a non-biodegradable plastic, which breaks into microplastics and bioaccumulates in marine organisms
- Cigarette butts are toxic waste, leaching dangerous chemicals such as lead, arsenic, and nicotine into the environment
- Cigarette butts are a fire hazard, responsible for burning 88,898 acres in CA since 1980

THEY’RE A HUMAN HEALTH PROBLEM

- Cigarette butts are the remnants of a product responsible for killing almost half a million people in the U.S. each year, including 40,000 Californians
- There are between 2,000-7,000 chemicals in cigarettes, including 65 carcinogens that cause cancer / chronic disease
- Tobacco waste is a health equity issue, disproportionately found in lower income communities / communities of color

THEY’RE AN ECONOMIC PROBLEM

- Caltrans alone spends roughly $13,940,000 a year cleaning up discarded butts in California
- Big Tobacco takes no responsibility for its toxic waste, forcing the physical and financial burden of cleanup onto local government agencies and volunteer organizations

On April 27, 2021, the Santa Cruz City Council unanimously passed a Resolution Recognizing Tobacco Waste as a Public Health and Environmental Threat. Sign below to help influence a monumental, first-of-its-kind legislation to prevent these toxic butts from ever reaching our beautiful beaches!