To the Editor:

Oregon Revised Statutes 164.805 states:

A person commits the crime of offensive littering if the person creates an objectionable stench or degrades the beauty or appearance of property or detracts from the natural cleanliness or safety of property by intentionally:

(a) Discarding or depositing any rubbish, trash, garbage, debris or other refuse upon the land of another without permission of the owner, or upon any public way or in or upon any public transportation facility.

Discarding cigarettes on the ground is considered offensive littering and is subject to 30 days in jail or $1250 fine.

The 32 cigarette butts I picked up this morning (and just about every morning) had the possibility of generating $37,500 in fines. What a revenue generator! The City of Seaside pays a contractor $29,700 per year for litter removal. They will walk the streets of Seaside this summer and pick up thousands of butts. Fines for the butts I picked up this morning would cover the cost of contracted litter removal for over a year!

Cigarette butts are not only an obvious eyesore, but they get washed into the storm drains and out into our waterways. Research states that only 10 percent of cigarette butts are disposed of property and 32 percent of litter at storm drains is tobacco products.

I’m not advocating that every cigarette tosser be fined $1,250; I just ask that smokers be more diligent about disposing of their butts. It’s our town, let’s keep it clean!

Patrick Duhacek

Seaside