Ashcan Installation in La Jolla!

On Wednesday Surfrider teamed up with the La Jolla Town Council Nell Carpenter Beautification/Streetscape Committee and I Love A Clean San Diego to install the first set of ten strategic ashcans.

Cigarette butts continue to plague San Diego as the most common litter item found each year by local environmental organizations. Recent smoking bans at beaches and parks have a positive impact but volunteers still find plenty of cigarette litter on local streets and alleyways. I Love A Clean San Diego and the Surfrider Foundation’s San Diego Chapter are taking a proactive approach to prevent this eyesore and environmental hazard.

Many thanks to Manase, Roger, Ken, Natalie, Ester, Samantha and everyone else that came out to help!

Click Here for more photos

SurfriderSD HOTYB Committee Telecon, June 7th, 6pm

To join the telecon, dial (507) 726-4200. The access code is 103015#.

For more info, you can e-mail hotyb@surfridersd.org.

HOTYB!

SurfriderSD HOTYB Committee Meeting, July 7th, 6:30pm

In addition to the August 4th meeting, there will be a meeting on July 7th.

The Hold On To Your Butt committee is looking for volunteers who would also like to make an impact and reduce cigarette waste in the environment and oceans.

The meeting is at La Jolla Brewhouse, 7536 Fay Ave. in La Jolla, July 7th, 2010, starting at 6:30pm.

For more info, you can e-mail hotyb@surfridersd.org. See you there!

Update! SurfriderSD HOTYB Committee Meeting changed to August 4th, at 6:30pm

The Hold on to your butt (HOTYB) committee meeting has been changed from June 23rd to August 4th.

The Hold On To Your Butt committee is looking for volunteers who would also like to make an impact and reduce cigarette waste in the environment and oceans.

The meeting is at La Jolla Brewhouse, 7536 Fay Ave. in La Jolla, August 4th, 2010, starting at 6:30pm.

For more info, you can e-mail hotyb@surfridersd.org. See you there!

San Diego State Univ (SDSU): Over 23,000 butts in one hour!

On April 17th, 2010, 62 volunteers found--
in ONE day,
in ONE hour,
in ONE square mile,
23,885 butts!

...on the SDSU campus.

WHAT TO DO?
- STOP SMOKING!!
- Advocate for a smoke-free SDSU campus.
- Hold on to your butts!
- Politely remind smokers not to toss their butts into the environment

SurfriderSD HOTYB Committee Telecon, May 3rd, 6pm

The Hold On To Your Butt committee is looking for volunteers who would also like to make an impact and reduce cigarette waste in the environment and oceans.

To join the telecon, dial (507) 726-4200. The access code is 103015#.

For more info, you can e-mail hotyb@surfridersd.org.

HOTYB!

SurfriderSD HOTYB Committee Meeting, June 23rd, 6:30pm

The Hold On To Your Butt committee is looking for volunteers who would also like to make an impact and reduce cigarette waste in the environment and oceans.

The meeting is at La Jolla Brewhouse, 7536 Fay Ave. in La Jolla, June 23rd, 2010, starting at 6:30pm.

For more info, you can e-mail hotyb@surfridersd.org. See you there!

Do your part to curb cigarette litter!

Every time heavy rains come, this is what ends up in the ocean. Do your part to reduce or eliminate cigarette litter!

SurfriderSD HOTYB Committee Meeting April 7th, 6:30pm

Same as the post below, the Hold On To Your Butt committee is looking for volunteers who would also like to make an impact and reduce cigarette waste in the environment and oceans.

The meeting is at the Encinitas Library on April 7th, 2010, starting at 6:30pm.

For more info, you can e-mail hotyb@surfridersd.org. See you there!

SurfriderSD HOTYB Committee Meeting Wednesday 2/24 6:30pm

Do you hate cigarette butt litter too?

If so, please join us on Wednesday evening for a planning meeting for the 'Hold On To Your Butt' anti-cigarette litter campaign in San Diego. This is a big year with the revival of the butt-flicker hotline (877-211-2888) and more local beach communities looking to expand our outdoor ashcan program. We need to start planning for the annual Hold On To Your Butt Day and maybe you have some ideas to help and ways to spread the message.

2/24 6:30pm at 7590 Fay Ave., 5th Floor Conference Room. Swing on by, the more the merrier. For more info you can email bill@surfriderSD.org

Surfrider partners with CA State Parks in San Diego County

Shown in the photo, Brian Austin from San Diego Surfrider met with CA State Parks (San Diego County) superintendent Brian Ketterer to discuss methods to reduce cigarette butt pollution, including installation of cylindrical ashcans, and encouraging campers & visitors to "Pack in, Pack out" - bringing all of their trash with them when they leave the beach. The two agencies are working together for cleaner parks, cleaner ocean water, and reduced risk of fires.

Cigarettes are litter too!

Even in the southern United States, with its long tradition of tobacco farms and higher smoking rate, motorists in New Orleans are becoming increasingly aware of the cigarette litter problem on roads, and the associated water pollution and fire hazards. This photo was taken along a major residential parkway, seen by thousands of motorists per day.

Butt Flicker Hotline Resurrected!

and to celebrate, we are hosting a prees event on Thursday January 21st at 10am in Mission Beach...

MEDIA ADVISORY:

Surfrider Foundation Partners with CHP; Will Launch Upgraded Cigarette Litter Reporting Hotline at January 21 Press Conference

What: The Surfrider Foundation, San Diego County Chapter, in partnership with the California Highway Patrol (CHP) and Cal Fire, will launch a newly upgraded electronic reporting system of the Cigarette Litter Hotline on January 21 that the public can use to report butts flicked from vehicles,
(877) 211-2888 (BUTT).

The goal of the hotline is to educate the public and change behavior to reduce the amount of cigarette butt litter. Members of the public witnessing cigarette butt littering can call (877) 211-2888 (BUTT) to give information about people seen illegally discarding cigarette butts. People caught littering and reported will not receive a citation, but statistics on the littering will be kept, and litterers caught in the act will receive a CHP-issued warning letter detailing the witnessed action and warning them the dangers of cigarette butt litter, which includes damage to the environment and wildlife as well as the risk of fire.

Who: Surfrider Foundation, San Diego County Chapter in cooperation with the California Highway Patrol and Cal Fire

When: 10 - 10:30 a.m., Thursday, Jan. 21

Where: Community Room at the Wavehouse Athletic Club at Belmont Park in Mission Beach, 3115 Ocean Front Walk (Community Room located to the right of the entrance to The Plunge)

Interview opportunities: CHP Border Division Chief Gary Dominguez, Cal Fire San Diego Unit Chief Howard Windsor, local Surfrider Foundation representatives, local city leaders.

More info: The number of cigarette butts found on beaches is overwhelming -- typically accounting for nearly one in every three items collected during a beach cleanup. An estimated 2 billion cigarette butts are tossed out daily. Some 230,000 butts were collected in one day from California beaches. Butts cast onto the sidewalk and streets eventually end up in storm drains, which flow to streams, rivers, bays, lagoons and ultimately the ocean. When the butts get wet from rain or contact with a body of water, toxins gathered by the filter are released. Littered cigarette butts also are a fire risk and have caused significant forest fires in the past.

Media contacts: Ken David, ken@surfriderSD.org
Manase Mansur, manase@surfriderSD.org

Fish Don't Smoke!

Humorous reminder to Hold On To Your Butt! Thanks to Ian O'Roarty for producing this great video for the Surfrider Foundation.

Fish Don't Smoke - Surfrider Foundation from Surfrider Foundation San Diego C on Vimeo.