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SAVANNAH, Ga. (WTOC) - Fight Dirty Tybee volunteers say during every beach cleanup they collect between 3,000 and 6,000 cigarette butts. Now, they’ve found a way to show people the true nature of the issue.
For the last three and a half years, cigarette butts have been pulled off the beach from volunteers and counted. Tim Arnold, with Fight Dirty Tybee, said they currently have six bins full of cigarette butts adding up to about 100,000. These are ready to go on display in the new marine science center.
The idea, Arnold said, is to put all the cigarette butts they collect into a clear cylinder that’ll stand over 6 feet tall and a couple of feet wide as a new exhibit.
Tuesday marks four months since Tybee Island passed a smoking ban in the area between 14th and 16th streets. Arnold said so far, there hasn’t been much of a difference, but he hopes this display will spark some change.
“The shock value really makes an impact on people. They see an urn or a bin of 100,000 butts and it’s just really shocking and they start to question. Did those come from the beach? How long did it take you to get them? Why are there so many out there,” Arnold said.
Straws, plastics, and cigarette butts will all be part of the marine debris display at the new Tybee Marine Science Center.
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