If I asked you to name the number one item that is littering our highways, according to the number of pieces per mile, what would you believe it would be? All litter is a problem but this one has a plastic that, as news reports say, “leach their toxic chemicals into the environment.” Our top littering problem is cigarette butts and now there are companies that are finding a use for them and actually making products such as jewelry, vases, and even guitar picks. USA Today recently had a story that the name of this new company is Cigarette Butt Litter Dream Recycling and they are in the process of collecting butts in hundreds of ashtrays that are outside of bars and restaurants in many big cities. Starting this month, the company will provide shipping labels so people can send in cigarette butts that they have collected. Since I am not a smoker I didn’t realize that some cities are starting to collect a penny deposit for each cigarette sold that will be used as a litter abatement fee to pay for cigarette cleanup costs. In San Diego, there is a group of people that are so upset with cigarettes on the beaches that they volunteer to clean up the cigarettes stuffed in the sand. Look at this chart and you can see the problem. Don’t litter. Better yet, don’t smoke.Pennies for Butts