Posted at: 03/02/2010 6:48 PM
By: Ellery McCardle

City Pushes to be a Little Butt Better

(ABC 6 NEWS) -- It's the number one thing people throw away in the U.S. Now the city of Rochester is working to put cigarette butts in their real place. Every one of them has 4,000 chemicals, but work is underway to clean them up.

"It all adds up and I'd rather people not litter," says Robert Scott of Illinois.

"It also just does not look well for all the patients coming from out of town and I don't think that represents Rochester very well," says Kristi Penza of Rochester.

"The uglier the city is you know it doesn't look inviting to visitors it can do many things to the environment and animals so it's all about making Rochester better," says Allison Plute of Rochester Public Works.

City officials have launched a campaign called "A Litter Butt Better" which aims to get cigarette butts off the ground and into the trash.

Officials at Rochester Public Works say cigarettes, "Damage our water environment you know the critters around there, it doesn't look very good so we've partnered with Arnold's supply company to have receptacle sales."

Together they're offering smoking receptacles like this one, to businesses and organizations at a discounted price, as low as $75.

"People flick them out randomly before they go in a building so yes I agree," says Cindy Erdmann of Dodge Center.

But Mayor Ardell Brede says it's more than just putting out more receptacles.

"I think for some people it's a habit they don't think about it and hopefully with a little more education that we can make sure there is that awareness."

All to make the city a "little butt better."

The sale for the bins runs through the end of this month at Arnold's Supply. After that, people can still buy them, but it'll cost them a little more.