$10 Litter Tax on Cigarettes

Did you know the most commonly littered item is the cigarette butt?

Here are some alarming facts…
- Over 4 trillion cigarettes are littered worldwide each year.
- It takes about 15 years for a cigarette butt to break down in the environment.
- Cigarette butts are the most common debris found in streams, rivers, and coastal environments and makeup roughly 38% of debris.
- Cigarette butts account for more than 1/3 of all forest fires in the U.S.
- More than 2 billion lbs. of cigarette butts are littered or disposed of in landfills each year.

These facts are overwhelming and prove the need for a better system to ensure proper disposal of this toxic trash. One solution that came to mind is charging a Litter Tax. This tax would be similar to the recycling fee that is charged when you buy sodas or beer. You pay a little extra upon purchase and then are refunded the money if you comply with the rules. For the Litter Tax, cigarette packs would be manufactured to include pre-paid return address labels printed right on the pack. The smoker must place 18 cigarette butts into the pack and ship it back to the manufacturer to receive a $10 check in the mail. What are your thoughts? Do you think this would help?

Originally posted by Kris Rudeegraap  http://www.rudeegraap.com/