City smoking ban creates big butt problem

Since Bloomington head-butted second-hand smoke with the recent smoking ban, cigarette butts outside of the city's bars have multiplied. The ban, requiring smokers to abstain from smoking inside Bloomington buildings and preferably at a "reasonable distance" from them, has meant more maintenance work for custodial employees at Kilroy's Sports Bar. \n"We have a sanitation staff on duty, and one of the first things they do every day is gather the cigarette butts that gather around the building," said Kilroy's owner Linda Prall. "There are lots and lots of cigarette butts every morning, and the problem has definitely gotten worse since the smoking ban," \nThe litter not only creates a hassle for bar employees -- the environment also might be paying a price. Indiana places cigarette-butt pollution under the category of nonpoint source pollution, or contamination that affects areas other than those at which it was originally deposited. The two largest contributors to nonpoint contamination are chemical fertilizers and dirt, but cigarettes also contribute. \nAccording to the fact sheet on nonpoint source pollution administered by the Indiana Department of Environmental Management (IDEM), the pollution is particularly a problem on surfaces that do not easily absorb water, such as streets and sidewalks. Litter like cigarette butts is washed into storm sewers and can be carried into waterways such as area rivers, lakes and groundwater.\nForty percent of surveyed waterways in Indiana are not clean enough to swim or fish in because of nonpoint contamination, according to the fact sheet. The effects of pollution entering waterways via sewers are gradual but extremely harmful not only to the condition of the water but also to aquatic animals, as pollutants can settle permanently into the tissue of exposed fish. \nThe IU campus also has a problem with cigarette butt litter. Although the rule requiring smokers to smoke 30 feet away from buildings has been in place longer than the city's ban, its level of enforcement is questionable, said Bruce Williams, a custodian at the Indiana Memorial Union. Williams said he doesn't even try to enforce the 30-foot rule because students will just disobey.\n"It hasn't gotten better since the 30-foot rule -- people stand right outside the doors," said Williams, who uses a lance to gather the butts cluttering the door areas of the Union. There had been a sign posted outside the back dock of the Union that read "No Smoking Within 30 Feet," but the sign soon was torn down, and butts continued to collect in that problem area, he said.\n"When I get off work it'll look pretty good, and the next day it'll be just as filthy again, they'll be everywhere, including in the flowers," Williams said. "I stay on top of it the best I can, but I also have a separate daily routine I have to do." \nRobert Norris, one of Williams' co-workers in maintenance, said Williams is the only person specifically in charge of cleaning up the litter.\n"As long as they have a Bruce, they don't see it as a problem," Norris said.\n-Contact Staff Writer Michael Beal at mdbeal@indiana.edu.