Butts could be subject of deposits

In Canada, a Metro Vancouver mayor is calling for a British Columbia-wide return-it deposit for cigarette butts as a way to keep such litter from contaminating storm drains and local waterways, according to a story by Kelly Sinoski for Canada.com.

North Vancouver Mayor Darrell Mussatto, chairman of Metro Vancouver’s utilities committee, said that he would suggest next month that the Metro committee study the issue and the effect discarded cigarette butts had on aquatic wildlife.

Mussatto said there had been a substantial increase in the number of butts dumped on the streets and ending up in local storm drains, and that he planned to meet with MLAs and lobby the provincial government to consider legislating the return-it deposit.

“There is an issue of concern arising with the number of cigarette butts making their way into our creeks and streams and waterways,” he said. “Nobody smokes inside anymore, so they use the streets as an ashtray. We’re trying to do some research on how it affects our waterways.”

Under the proposal outlined by the city, smokers would be charged a deposit of say five cents for every cigarette in a pack, which would be refunded when the butts were returned to a designated retailer or depot.

Mussatto said the cigarette packs would have to be marked so they could be easily identified when returned. This would ensure cigarette packs sold outside of the program, where a deposit was not paid, would not receive a refund.