33,000 cigarette butts picked up in Thunder Bay

A Thunder Bay environmental stewardship group wants to reduce the number of cigarette butts tossed on the ground.

During a spring cleanup campaign across the city,almost 33,000 butts were picked up.

"It's widely assumed that cigarettes are degradable," said Ellen Mortfield, executive director of Eco Superior.

"But the fact is they take a long time to degrade and they have a lot of toxic chemicals in them."

Mortfield said this was the first year volunteers counted the number of discarded butts.

The sheer number of them has prompted Eco Superior to cover half the cost of apublic ashtrayfor any business owners.

The cost of installing the outdoor receptacles will be up to the owner.

Mortfield said she hopes thatnext year more people will butt out in the new ashtrays and not on the street.