Cigarette Butts

Next time you find yourself on one of Los Angeles’ underused sidewalks, look down at your feet. How many cigarette butts do you see? The streets of L.A. have become one giant ashtray (the same is doubly true of our beaches). Do the smokers guilty of littering our streets think that a cigarette butt is too small to be considered litter? A few million butts and you’ve got a whole landfill’s worth of litter.

We are all familiar with the dangers of cigarette smoke, for both the smoker and the nonsmoker. However, our concern should not end after the fire goes out. The sidewalks of Los Angeles have trash cans on almost every corner, and cars have ashtrays. Why is it so difficult to put a cigarette butt in a trash can? And why is it that I never see people being fined for not doing it?

ROSS BURNS, Santa Monica