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News Beach Bar Makes "No Butts On The Beach" Pledge
[Put your fags out]
Blue Bar at Porthtowan embraces No Smoking Day
by Richard Hardy
13/03/2007:// With today being National No Smoking Day, Surfers Against Sewage (SAS) campaigners are stoked to see the Blue Bar at Porthtowan make an SAS ‘No Butts on the Beach pledge’ by providing static butt bins for their customers, stopping cigarette butts getting onto the beach.
PHOTOCALL: At 11am on Wednesday 14th March, SAS campaigners will stub out ‘giant’ cigarette butts into a static butt bin on the entrance steps to the Blue Bar on Porthtowan Beach.
The Blue Bar has implemented a no smoking policy ahead of the national ban. To make it easier for their customers the Blue Bar have provided static butt bins for smokers to use outside the bar. SAS are commending the Blue Bar for tackling this problem themselves and calling on other establishments, on the beach and in the towns to follow their positive example.
By 1st July 2007 all countries across the UK will have implemented no smoking bans inside public venues. With more smokers having to go outside, SAS are concerned about a dramatic rise in cigarette butt litter appearing on beaches, particularly where popular bars and restaurants are located on or close to close to the sand.
Did You Know:
· Cigarette butts are the most littered item in the world. · Cigarette butts are one of the most commonly found litter items on beaches around the UK. · Cigarette butts are not biodegradable, but made from 12,000 plastic fibres. · 1 cigarette butt can take up to 15 years to break down and pollute 3 litres of seawater.
SAS have also called on local authorities to make the ‘No Butts On the Beach ’ pledge. For this they must ensure bathing beaches in their district have dedicated static butt bins with accompanying signage at beach entry/exit points so the public can use them to dispose of their butts responsibly. In Cornwall North Cornwall District Council are the first to make this pledge.
Andy Cummins, SAS Campaigner says: “Dropping a cigarette butt is littering, they can take a long time to break down, cause harm to the marine life and pollute the sea. We need to have static butt bins in place so smokers have an easy alternative to dropping their butts. We all want to see No Butts On The Beach!”