HELP KEEP KEY WEST CLEAN

JOIN A 1- HOUR CLEANUP EVERY FRIDAY MORNING

Cigarette and cigar plastic filter waste collected by volunteers in just one half-hour. The material will be sent by the city of Key West to TerraCycle to be processed and recycled. AMY PATTON/Keys Weekly city streets and in waterways, where toxic chemicals like nicotine, arsenic and heavy metals seep out and pollute.

Patton said the quantity of material picked up around the island may startle some.

“Last week we collected about seven gallons of cigarette butts. That’s roughly 4,000 per gallon.” The good news is that the city actually sends the collected waste with other nonbiodegradable debris like condiment packages to TerraCycle, an innovative company in New Jersey that helps remediate the world’s “throwaway culture” by receiving and processing everything from lipstick containers to baby food pouches.

But if you think the message from the Ploggers is for people to quit nicotine altogether, it’s not.

“We’re not lecturing people to stop smoking,” insisted Hellman. “We’re just asking those who do to please dispose of the butts in a responsible way.” She added, “You can make a difference just by doing that. Please consider the serious environmental consequences before flicking your used cigarette or cigar onto the ground here or anywhere.”

Patton said the cleanup team is always welcoming new volunteers. Bottled water and all equipment including vests are provided. To join the Ploggers and find them every Friday morning, check out the city’s schedule on Facebook: City of Key West – Government and each week in the Key West Weekly newspaper.

Brian coin for not only being some of the original Ploggers. but for writing a song about Plogging that is available on YouTube. (Search ‘Walkin’ Pickin’ Ploggers’.)

One hour a week makes a huge difference, and volunteers are welcome every Friday and some Saturday mornings, from 8 to 9 a.m., when the Key West Ploggers clean up a designated area of the island.

Gloves, pickers, buckets, vests, hand sanitizer and a parking pass are provided to all volunteers.

A troubling number of cigarette butts and plastic bags have been included in recent hauls. Please remember your reusable bags when shopping so we can keep the plastic off the streets, parking lots and, most importantly, out of the water. And dispose of cigarette butts in any receptacle rather than the street or sidewalk, as from there, they easily end up in the ocean.

The city of Key West and its residents ask everyone to do their part to help keep Key West beautiful. With simple steps like making sure you bag your trash before putting it in your Waste Management trash cans or Dumpsters, ing sure the lids on Dumpsters are closed, will keep a lot of trash from blowing into the streets. Call Waste Management at 305-296-8297 for any furniture items left on the city right of way.

Piper Simons joins her mom, Kasey, as a volunteer Plogger on March 24.

Please pick up around your home or apartment complex. Every piece of trash picked up is one less that may end up in the ocean that surrounds and sustains our island community. It is not just the large items you can see easily when you are walking, but the smaller items such as bottle caps and cigarette butts that are collected by the volunteers that make the biggest difference.

Join an upcoming Friday morning cleanup from 8 to 9 a.m.

March 31: Mallory Square

(Meet in the parking lot near Dumpsters.)