Cigarette butts, cigarette butts, cigarette butts. If there is one thing – well actually hundreds of things- that stand out from the Garwood Democratic Club’s second 2024 cleanup of Route 28/North Avenue on Saturday, September 28 it is – you guessed it – cigarette butts. While statistics show that there are fewer cigarette smokers in America, you would never know it by our cleanups. I have always said that if cigarette smokers want to dirty their lungs, well, that is their choice, but I wish that in doing so, they did not litter our roadways, parks, and waterways. At every driveway and intersection, there are cigarette butts. Why? Don’t cigarette smokers realize that in throwing their butts out the window, they are just throwing the butts into their own drinking water?
Cigarette butts, cigarette butts, cigarette butts. If there is one thing – well actually hundreds of things- that stand out from the Garwood Democratic Club’s second 2024 cleanup of Route 28/North Avenue on Saturday, September 28 it is – you guessed it – cigarette butts. While statistics show that there are fewer cigarette smokers in America, you would never know it by our cleanups. I have always said that if cigarette smokers want to dirty their lungs, well, that is their choice, but I wish that in doing so, they did not litter our roadways, parks, and waterways. At every driveway and intersection, there are cigarette butts. Why? Don’t cigarette smokers realize that in throwing their butts out the window, they are just throwing the butts into their own drinking water?
Despite numerous local businesses placing cigarette butt collection containers along their frontage – Garwood Lanes, Shop Rite, Accurate Bushing- smokers still just throw their butts onto North Avenue. This time, Accurate Bushing, and Shop Rite in particular, who had both made progress in reducing their butt litter- reverted to their butt loaded curbs. We hope that these businesses – as most cigarette butts are thrown near employee break areas- can develop cigarette butt reduction programs (and empty their collections containers). We continue to urge all cigarette smokers to please dispose of your cigarette butts responsibly.
The club conducts four cleanups/ year as part of its annual Adopt-AHighway commitment to the New Jersey Department of Transportation. Besides cigarette butts, the usual slate of suspects – small liquor bottles, various bolts/screws/valves from autos, fast food napkins/straws/straw packaging, (yes, ketchup packages) packages, plastic water bottles, and vaping pens and associated packaging were also picked up. Some unusual ‘stuff’ this time around included a towel, rubber bear, and a vehicle hubcap/rim.
This time club members Debbie Ledger, Andy Blumenstock, Charles Lombardo, Councilwoman Clarissa Nolde, Councilmen Marc Lazarow, and Bill Nierstedt bore cotton gloves, handled ‘grabbers’ (some members are double fisted grabbers), and picked up enough litter to fill two bags of garbage, and two bags of recyclables. Thanks to the NJ plastic bag ban law, we did not find or pick up a single, single use plastic bag. The property frontage with the most litter once again was the Garwood Paperboard Urban Renewal Associates property. While still not at zero, the club has noticed a reduction in the amount of single use ‘stuff’ from fast food restaurants due to Garwood’s (and Westfield’s) adoption of ‘Stop the Stuff’ laws.
Each cleanup reduces litter from entering our stormwater system and rivers, and reduces the visual litter blight thereby improving Garwood’s appearance to those passing through. Those interested in assisting the club in its future North Avenue cleanups or participating in other community activities are encouraged to contact the Garwood Democratic Club at garwooddems@gmail.com.
Bill Nierstedt Garwood
