San Luis Obispo County Tobacco Control Program expands to target tobacco waste

SAN LUIS OBISPO COUNTY, Calif. – In honor of Earth Day, the SLO County Tobacco Control Program (TCP) announced its new collaboration with the Central Coast Clean campaign to address the harms of tobacco waste.

TCP said the new collaboration will target trash, litter and harms of tobacco waste in SLO County, and it aims to decrease the amount of litter that makes its way into waterways on the Central Coast.

Campaign organizers said that a recent report by the Ocean Conservancy showed that in 2020, 22.6% of items collected during California trash cleanups were cigarette butts.

Central Coast Clean said that with TCP’s support, the campaign will increase social media messaging on the issue of toxic tobacco waste and encourage quitting the use of tobacco products.

This new partnership will also place new tobacco waste receptacles at public locations in the cities of Grover Beach and Morro Bay in an effort to help reduce tobacco litter, according to TCP.

Grover Beach City Manager Matthew Bronson said "The City of Grover Beach is committed to capturing trash and litter that pollutes our local waterways and oceans. Tobacco waste should be treated as toxic litter because it leaches chemicals into the soil and contaminates water if not disposed of properly."

TCP said that messaging on the tobacco waste receptacles is meant to encourage smokers to dispose of tobacco waste properly, and provide a QR link to free tobacco quitting services through Kick It California.

"Nobody enjoys cigarette butts on our beaches, in our streets, or in our waterways," said Amy Gilman, Tobacco Control Program. "This campaign helps keep harmful waste out of our water and is a natural complement to our work supporting people who want to stop using tobacco."

To learn more, click here to visit the San Luis Obispo County Tobacco Control Program website.