It is a big problem in just about every city and town. We're talking about people throwing their cigarette butts on the ground or out the car window.
The problem is especially bad at busy intersections like Elm Avenue in Roanoke.
April Bowles of Roanoke told News 7, "It's kinda gross."
Nicole Saritelli of Roanoke told News 7, "I think it's awful."
Some say the problem has gotten worse since Virginia banned smoking in bars/restaurants. That is forcing people outside to smoke and they are just throwing their cigarettes on the ground.
The problem is getting the attention of Roanoke County Supervisor Charlotte Moore. She is running for re-election.
Her campaign sign near the Lowe's on Route 220 reads "protect our Star, keep your butts in the car."
Moore believes discarded cigarettes are a cosmetic and safety issue. She told News 7, "we planted flowers on the median on Brambleton Avenue and 419 on a Friday afternoon and Sunday afternoon the Fire Department was here putting out a mulch fire."
Moore has enlisted the help of council members from Roanoke City, Salem, and Vinton. They're volunteering to pick up cigarette butts at intersections throughout the Roanoke Valley.
The problem is also big in downtown Roanoke.
Downtown Roanoke Incorporated (DRI) recently received a grant to buy more cigarette receptacles.
They're placed at several locations in downtown.
DRI has received another grant to launch a public awareness campaign later this fall.
There will be spray painted messages on some downtown sidewalks.
Sean Luther is the president of DRI. He told News 7, "really the messages are just to remind people that this is downtown, that is everyone's downtown and frankly downtown is not an ashtray."
There's also an education component to the problem.
Clean Valley Council is an organization that promotes keeping the Roanoke Valley clean. The organization runs education programs in schools.
Clean Valley Council wants students to realize whatever they drop on the ground ends up in our drains, and eventually in the Roanoke River.
Cristina Siegel is the Executive Director of Clean Valley Council. She told News 7, "think of what a butt is. It's collecting all the toxins out of the cigarette so it doesn't go into you. Now we've just put that into the river, into a source of water where all those are going to leech out into our water."
Clean Valley Council recently took a school group and picked up cigarette butts outside a downtown Roanoke restaurant. The students collected more than a thousand butts at that one location.
