The estimated billion cigarette butts discarded every day easily make them the most littered item in America. KAB and DAP developed a program to combat this litter on downtown sidewalks, streets and parks that increased when Smokefree Ohio, a voter-approved smoking ban in public buildings, went into effect in May.

The project was aided by a grant from Keep Akron Beautiful's national network, Keep America Beautiful, Inc., that paid for five additional ash receptacles to join the 16 that DAP installed in late spring throughout the Special Improvement District downtown.

"Cigarette litter has been a growing problem for us," said DAP President Kimberlee McKee, whose organization operates the Operation Neat Streets program. "The results of this community effort are encouraging. Downtown business and property owners are involved and they've also involved their employees and customers by distributing pocket ashtrays to help reduce the cigarette litter accumulating outside their front doors."

"We were very interested in the measurable impact of this program in downtown Akron after having piloted the program in the fall of 2006 around the University of Akron," said Paula Davis, Executive Director of Keep Akron Beautiful. "With the national network reporting how the program strategies are working elsewhere, we hope to expand the cigarette litter prevention program to more Akron neighborhoods who feel the need."

With the support of the City of Akron and property and business owners, ash receptacles were installed at "transition points" downtown to encourage adult smokers to properly dispose of their butts. 

"Many building and business owners and managers downtown saw the value of the project and asked for a receptacle, posters to display and pocket ashtrays to distribute," said Linda Fry, DAP project manager.

Keep America Beautiful defines "transition points" as those places where smokers must stop smoking before they continue. These are the places where cigarettes become litter. "When we place the ash urns there, we make a difference," said Davis.

Five queen-size Metro RTA transit ads ran April through July 2007 with a graphic reminder that cigarette butts are litter too. Posters and fliers were displayed downtown to encouraging smokers to "stick your butts where the sun don't shine [cigarette butts that is]." More than 200 of the same yellow and black posters were posted in buses that pass through the bus transfer area on Main Street, and 1,800 Keep America Beautiful pocket ashtrays were distributed, free of charge, to smokers at Lock III summer events and through DAP and its business members.