HOULTON, Maine — The downtown is becoming littered with cigarette butts, and town councilors discussed what to do about it at their regular meeting on Monday evening.
Chair Jane Torres, who is also the executive director of the Greater Houlton Chamber of Commerce, said that unsightly cigarette butts are being dropped on the sidewalks, in alleys and even in the flower beds and at the base of trees in Market Square.
“We have a problem with people smoking and throwing cigarette butts on the ground to the point where I have gone down with a broom and taken half trash cans full of butts out,” she said. ”I don’t know what the answer is. It is just ignorance. Not only are they toxic, they look terrible.”
Councilor Chris Robinson asked if there were any sand filled cigarette receptacles or other such containers in the downtown area.
“Do we want those?” Torres asked.
“Would you rather pick them up off the ground?” Robinson countered.
Torres suggested that officials look into “making it so people can’t smoke outside.”
That did not gain much traction with some members of the council.
“I am not in favor of anyone throwing butts on the street, but do we need more rules and regulations?” he asked. “I think there are ways we could be more proactive.”
Councilor Joe McKenna, the former police chief, said that the town already has a littering ordinance in effect.
“So now we have police officers watching people tossing cigarette butts,” said Robinson. “That isn’t an efficient use of their time.”
Councilor Raymond Jay said that he knew, as a former smoker, that the first instinct of a smoker was to fling the cigarette butt on the ground once finished with it. He said he felt that some people would use a disposal system in the downtown, but others would still just toss them on the ground.
Councilor Sue Tortello said she agreed with Robinson.
“What kind of disposal mechanism do we have in place for people?” she asked. “Maybe we should also do a public relations campaign to let people know that we might have to make the downtown a smoke free zone if they don’t properly dispose of their cigarette butts.”
Torres said she was not sure what the answer was.
“The worst part is around those trees,” she said, speaking of the 25 Japanese lilacs that were planted throughout the downtown to replace oak trees that had grown too large for the area. “We planted $300 trees. People see dirt and they put their cigarettes out there and leave them there.”
The council took no action on the matter at the meeting.
