Portable ashtrays available in West Island boroughs

BY ELYSE AMEND

elyse.amend@transcontinental.ca

With portable ashtrays now available free of charge at municipal buildings in the City of Montreal’s 19 boroughs, officials hope smokers will think twice before chucking their butts on the ground.

According to City of Montreal spokesman Darren Becker, approximately one billion cigarettes are smoked on the Island of Montreal every year.

With Quebec’s smoking ban that came into effect on May 31, 2006, many more of those cigarettes are now being smoked outdoors. The non-biodegradable butts left behind by smokers when there are no outdoor ashtrays in sight not only take up about 50 per cent of the Montreal cleaning crew’s time, but also end up in the sewer system and in our rivers and lakes, Becker commented.

“We can’t do anything to stop people from smoking. But, people who are smoking, we can at least ask them to be civic minded,” Becker said.

At a cost of about 40 cents each, the city is currently distributing 100,000 portable ashtrays free of charge in its boroughs, including Pierrefonds/Roxboro and Ile Bizard/Ste. Geneviève. The ashtrays are small, airtight pouches that can fit about five or six cigarette butts. The pouches snap shut and fit into a back pocket, bag, or purse. When there are no ashtrays nearby, smokers can keep their cigarette butts in the portable ashtrays and then empty them out later.

The ashtrays can be cleaned by simply rinsing them out with soap and water, Becker said. However, while the ashtrays are reusable, the plastic and aluminum pouches cannot be put in the recycling.

In a province where about 23 per cent of the population smokes, Becker admits it will be difficult to keep every cigarette butt off the ground, even with the portable ashtray campaign.

“It’s not going to be easy to change people’s habits. It’s a lot easier for people just to chuck it and forget about it,” he said, adding that he hopes the portable ashtrays will help people be more environmentally friendly. “Every gesture counts.”

Pierrefonds/Roxboro borough mayor Monique Worth says that, with the way people think about environmental issues today, she is hopeful the portable ashtrays will take off.

“I think people are very conscious about cleanliness now. We’ve worked hard at the city to make it cleaner and better. I’ve noticed a change,” Worth said. “We have had calls from people who were interested in getting the ashtrays.. So, I like to think people are concerned and are more conscious.”է