Friday, April 22, 2016
Perth District Health Unit
Think Team Cleans Up Cigarette Butt Litter in Stratford for Earth Week
The Perth District Health Unit's THINK team celebrated Earth Week (April 18-22) by picking up cigarette butt litter across Stratford. Contrary to popular belief, cigarette butts are made of cellulose acetate, a form of plastic, and never completely break down.
The THINK team is a group of youth that work with the Perth District Health Unit to prevent youth from starting to smoke. In just a few short hours, the THINK team collected two buckets of cigarette litter. A short video of their efforts can be viewed here.
"We want to raise awareness about the negative impact cigarette butt litter has on our environment," says THINK tea member, Dani Schoonderwoerd. "They leach toxic chemicals into water and soil, they are poisonous to animals and young children and, unfortunately, they seem to be everywhere."
Cigarette butts are the number one littered item in the world with approximately 4.5 trillion cigarette butts littered each year.
The THINK team urges people to please not litter their cigarette butts. "Our earth is not an ashtray," says Schoonderwoerd.
The THINK team has also been using their social media platforms to educate their fans about the environmental impacts or cigarette butts. For more information, visit @ THINK Perth on Facebook, Twitter and Instragram.
For more information:
- Call Health Line at 519-271-7600 ext 267 or toll-free at 1-877-271-7348 ext 267
- Visit www.pdhu.on.ca
Media Contact:
Rebecca Hill
Communications Manager
519-271-7600 ext 279
rhill@pdhu.on.ca
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