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About 40 people turned up in downtown Kelowna Friday morning to grab some butts.
The Butt Grab event was put on by the Downtown Kelowna Association in an attempt to clean up the city centre on Earth Day.
Ryan Watters said the DKA organized the event to bring awareness to the issue of cigarette butts as litter.
“It’s amazing how many cigarette butts are tossed. When did we think it was acceptable to throw trash on the ground. The butt isn’t just paper it’s not biodegradable.”
Cigarette filters are composed of cellulose acetate, a form of plastic. The white fibres found in a cigarette filter are not cotton, but a plastic that can persist in the environment as long as other forms of plastic.
Watters said he was shocked at how many butts were picked up by volunteers who gave their time early in the morning to sweep the streets.
“The Pursuit of Excellence brought 20 of the hockey players down and a few coaches. The guys were given pickers and brooms to pick up the butts,” he explained.
The volunteers focused in and around the Queens Way Bus Loop, City Hall and Lawrence Street.
Many businesses who saw the volunteers on the street also came out to help clean the area.
The Butt Grab event was just one of the many ways people around the Okanagan demonstrated support for environmental protection.
In West Kelowna, Wholistic Essentials and the Westside Community Food Bank held an event on Elliot Street where residents were encouraged to come down and take part in activities. The Earth Day celebration had information sessions on geocaching, composting and healthy eating habits.
Other communities got together and held small beach cleanups, from picking up small bits of plastic to large sticks.
In Vernon, the Downtown Association held an Earth Day Birthday Party in Cenotaph park where a groups came together with signs advocating for access to clean water and biodiversity.
Earth Day was created in 1970 and is now co-ordinated globally by the Earth Day Network and celebrated in more than 193 countries each year.
Let us know how you celebrated Earth Day send us a photo showing how you were motivated into action.
