HomeMy Public PortalAboutCOTI_PR20180621_CigaretteLitter.docxPRESS STATEMENT: Contact: Shawn Gillen
For immediate release City Manager
(912) 472-5070
sgillen@cityoftybee.org
-or-
Tim Arnold
Tybee Clean Beach Volunteers
tybeecleanbeach@gmail.com
COASTAL GEORGIA CIGARETTE LITTER PREVENTION EFFORT UNDERWAY
Tybee Island, GA (June 12, 2018) – In an unprecedented effort, entities in Georgia’s six coastal counties have joined together to battle the nation’s number one most littered item: cigarette
butts. Providing comprehensive coverage of Georgia’s coastal area, Tybee Clean Beach Volunteers, the City of Tybee Island, Keep Savannah Beautiful, Keep McIntosh Beautiful, Keep Camden
Beautiful, UGA Marine Extension and Georgia Sea Grant, Keep Golden Isles Beautiful, Keep Liberty Beautiful, Fort McAllister State Park and Crooked River State Park have united in a
coast-wide, cigarette litter awareness educational initiative: Georgia’s Coast is Not an Ashtray.
Made of cellulose acetate, a type of plastic, cigarette butts do not easily biodegrade. Discarded butts have a negative impact as land litter, but once blown into storm drains or tossed
directly into water sources, this toxic litter becomes marine debris, leaching chemicals into marine and aquatic environments and potentially being ingested by those inhabitants. With
coastal Georgia’s proximity to the Atlantic Ocean as well as its abundance of streams, rivers, lakes, creeks, salt and freshwater marshes and ponds, the coast-wide initiative focuses
on cigarette butts in relation to water bodies.
Funded by a $15,000 Keep America Beautiful cigarette litter prevention program grant, the three-month initiative consists of cigarette waste receptacle and signage placement, radio public
service announcements, social media promotion, educational video development, business signage placement, drink coaster outreach and pocket/car ash tray distribution. A total of 81
cigarette receptacles will be placed and educational outreach provided in public spaces near coastal water bodies of varying types.
While simultaneous project-specific outreach activities will occur in all six coastal counties during the June-August effort, community-specific outreach activities are encouraged as
well.
“Cigarette litter is polluting our beaches and water ways. Working with all of Georgia’s coastal communities, we can make a difference,” said City of Tybee City Manager Shawn Gillen.
“With the help of the Tybee Clean Beach Volunteers and the Tybee Beach Ambassadors, we can make a positive impact on Georgia’s coast and demonstrate that a collective effort can set
an example for other coastal communities around the nation to follow.”
About Tybee Island, GA.: The City of Tybee Island, Georgia is on the outermost barrier island off the Savannah area coast. With a wild bird sanctuary, over three miles of ocean beaches,
and salt marshes on the back river, outdoor recreation activities abound for visitors to the island. As a key defense point to the important Savannah port, Tybee’s Fort Screven, Tybee
Post Theater, Fort Pulaski, and the Tybee Island and Cockspur Lighthouses combine with the unique architectures of the island’s raised cottages to form a rich backdrop for history buffs.
Attracting a strong artistic community, there are several local supporting art galleries. Keeping the island interesting year round are several arts festivals, the Annual Pirate Fest,
the Beach Bum Parade, St Patrick’s Day celebrations, the Beach Bash, and the Christmas Parade, as well as fireworks displays on Independence and New Year’s Days off the Walter W. Parker
Pier and Pavilion. The Marine Science Center cooperates with Georgia’s DNR to protect threatened sea turtle species by searching for nests, protecting their eggs, and making sure hatchlings
make it to the sea. For visitor information, stop by http://www.tybeevisit.com/, and to find more about the City of Tybee Island, visit our web site at http://www.cityoftybee.org/.
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