Kick Butts! Clean Up Event Raises Awareness of Tobacco Waste Challenges
By Logan Bagett on Friday, April 24th, 2026 in More Top Stories Northeastern Oregon News
BAKER CITY — (Press Release from the Baker County Health Department)
Nineteen volunteers of all ages participated in the first annual Kick Butts! Tobacco Waste Clean Up in Baker City on April 21, 2026 as part of the Baker County Tobacco Prevention and Education Program’s celebration of Earth Month.
Most people know that tobacco and nicotine products are bad for your physical health, but many are unaware of the significant harm these products also pose for the environment. Cigarette butts continue to be the single most common litter item on the planet. Made up of a type of synthetic plastic called cellulose acetate, cigarette “filters” are a just a clever marketing ploy that serve no actual purpose in terms of reducing harm to their consumers, but can take years to break down into microplastics and a wide variety of heavy metals and carcinogenic substances that often end up polluting waterways and beaches. Cigarette carton wrappers, cigarillo packages, and chewing tobacco cans also frequently end up in the environment, are made of non-biodegradable plastic or metals, and have residues that can be toxic to children, pets, and wildlife.
Waste from “disposable” e-cigarettes, also known as vapes, create a special set of challenges that leave many communities, including Baker County, with limited or no options for proper disposal. In addition to containing plastics that don’t readily break down, heavy metals and toxic chemicals, the liquid nicotine found in vapes is a hazardous waste that needs to be taken to a hazardous waste collection site and not just thrown in the garbage. The lithium batteries that power vapes can explode and should never be discarded in the trash, as they are a common source of landfill, garbage truck, and waste facility fires. Vape recycling and disposal programs are few and far between, and no program for either recycling or safe disposal currently exists in Baker County or the surrounding counties.
Focusing on the Baker City sidewalks, parks, public buildings, and retail areas used by all members of the public, volunteers spent almost two hours picking up tobacco waste in the Geiser Pollman Park, Leo Adler Pathway, Main, Resort, and 10th streets, the Baker County Courthouse, Baker County Health Department, and Baker County Library, as well as retail centers along Campbell Street and Pocahontas Road.
Volunteers not only removed harmful tobacco waste from these areas, but documented details about the amount, type, and location of the tobacco waste they found, such as the distance from a storm drain or outdoor dining. They found cigarette butts were abundant everywhere, and the volunteer clean up crew picked up at least 2,003 of these (this is a very conservative estimate, as some areas were so densely littered with cigarette butts that volunteers found it difficult to keep track). Around nine percent of the cigarette butts were found within 10 feet of a storm drain, five percent within 10 feet of a garbage can or ashtray, two percent within 10 feet of an outdoor dining area, one percent within 10 feet of a “No Smoking” sign, and 14 percent were located within 10 feet of a tobacco retailer.
In addition to the 2,000+ cigarette butts picked up, volunteers also found and removed vape cartridges, cigar tips, marijuana roaches, tobacco packaging, lighters, and at least 74 synthetic nicotine pouches.
Following the Kick Butts! Tobacco Waste Clean Up, volunteers were treated to a free lunch from Piazano’s Pizza and multiple gift card drawings as a thank you. “Thank you so much to all the volunteers who participated,” said Tobacco Prevention and Education Program Coordinator, Hayley Sanders. “We plan on doing this again next year as we continue to raise awareness about the many different harms of tobacco products and work to make our communities and environment safer for everyone.”
2026 Kick Butts! Baker City Tobacco Waste Collection Data
| Estimated total number of cigarette butts collected | 2,003 |
| Cigarette butts found within 10 feet of a storm drain | 180 (9%) |
| Cigarette butts found within 10 feet of a tobacco retailer | 273 (14%) |
| Cigarette butts found within 10 feet of a garbage can/ashtray | 106 (5%) |
| Cigarette butts found within 10 feet of a “No Smoking” sign | 18 (1%) |
| Cigarette butts found within 10 feet of outdoor dining | 41 (2%) |
| Tobacco packaging | 4 |
| Vape waste (cartridges, devices, etc.) | 3 |
| Cigar tips | 7 |
| Lighters | 1 |
| Nicotine pouches | 74 |
| Roaches | 3 |
| Number of volunteers | 19 |
| Time spent collecting | 1.75 hours |
