Because there was so much trash in just this one area, my husband decided to drag the trash can down and pick it all up. (Yes, part of our 20 minutes was taken to clean up that mess and I didn't add it to the tally.) SO... as we saw that big mess strewn across the sand... we questioned why the people couldn't just walk the trash up to the trash cans?? BUT... then we raised a bigger question. If people that litter THAT much trash and aren't caught and/or cited... then how in the world do the three Wrightsville Beach aldermen that voted down the proposed smoking ban expect someone who litters something as small as a cigarette butt to be cited for littering?? I ask that question in all seriousness. I wonder from a police officer's point of view how difficult that task must be??
It sounds daunting if not impossible. Though I would be the first to say that I believe that anything is possible. BUT, with a small police force at WB... I wonder about the feasibility of police officers being able to truly enforce the littering law... especially when it comes to cigarette butts? Hmmm... Since the public hearing we have done 3 clean ups at Wrightsville Beach. My friend Sara has done 4 beach clean ups in Santa Monica. We're comparing the amount of cigarettes found on our two beaches in just 20 minute increments. So far the difference is staggering. We ask, "Can you tell which beach has banned smoking?"
Wrigthsville Beach: 3 beach clean ups-- 781 cigarette butts
Santa Monica: 4 beach clean ups-- 57 cigarette butts
Another thing that happened yesterday, was us seeing a group of people pack up their stuff and leave their trash. (See the people standing just to the right of the access sign? Yeah, that's them.) They grabbed all their chairs, towels, etc... but failed to grab 2 plastic water bottles and 2 freshly smoked cigarettes. When my husband approached them to let them know that they forgot some things, he received a common response: "Oh, we were going to come back for that." (RIGHT, because those water bottles and cigarette butts are so important they'd never be forgotten.) Please note the sarcasm... because as often as we've heard that line (along with the "that's not ours" line)... no one ever packs up everything... walks all the way to the access and goes back for their cigarette butts or other trash. By the way, as the conversation progressed... her story changed to place the blame on the young teenager that was with them. (sad)
I'm here to make a difference. Want to join in?
20 minutes on March 16, 2012 at Access 15
Cigarette butts: 210
Total amount of cigarette butts removed from Wrightsville Beach, NC in 126 days:
42,033
Hi Danielle,
ReplyDeleteGlad to hear about the smoking ban on WB! Yeah! well done :) I understand the question you raise about how to enforce this new law... That is indeed a serious challenge and issue. Are there any under-cover law enforcers? Or could they give some kind of authorisation to people like you who are genuinly concerned and are already investing so much energy in this and spending this time on the beach to give out tickets or something? Maybe you could make small tickets (like a red card in football) with the explanation of the new ban on it. I guess they will place a sign at the beach saying it is forbidden to smoke... But if you install a law you have to have the means (financial or otherwise) to enforce it... Keep us posted on how it goes... Good luck Danielle and greetings from Eef xxx
Hi Eef,
ReplyDeleteUnfortunately, the smoking ban was voted down 3-2 :( One of the reasons given by the 3 elected officials was that a smoking ban would be too difficult to enforce and that enforcing the litter law would be much easier. (Just so you know, we contacted other beach towns that have smoke-free beaches and they all stated that enforcement was quite simple through signage and general public knowledge/peer pressure :) ).
Anyway, my point that I was hoping to convey is that people are littering very BIG items and not being caught/cited/fined for littering.... so how in the world, could those elected officials expect someone who is littering their cigarette butts to be caught? In reality, it's really a lot easier to see someone smoking on the beach (therefore easier to tell them about a smoking ban) than it is to see them litter a cigarette butt.
... but those elected officials were too close minded to see the facts laid out right in front of them. So now, we'll continue collecting and counting this huge problem at our beach. Eventually, they'll come around or they'll be out of office. ;)
Thanks for always commenting and all of the work you do, Eef! :)