We in Palm Beach County take great pride in our parks and beaches, which serve as a major attraction for both residents and visitors year-round. Keeping them clean is an on-going challenge.
It has been reported that over 4.5 trillion cigarette butts are littered each year. Recently, I was pleased to introduce new signage that has been installed in a number of county-operated beaches. These signs are specifically designed to combat cigarette butt litter, the most common trash littered on our beaches and parks.
In conjunction with the new self-enforced, no-smoking signs, the county is also providing cigarette butt receptacles. When I was Mayor of Boca Raton, we installed similar signage that resulted in a significant decrease in cigarette butt litter on Boca’s beaches.
When discussing the topic of beach litter, it is important to recognize the Sand Sifters, a nationally-recognized local organization that has taken the lead in addressing the litter problem. Organized in September of 2005, this group has over 1,000 volunteers who regularly clean our local beaches and parks. To date, they have removed hundreds of tons of litter from approximately 5.5 miles of beaches.
Sand Sifters is always looking for new volunteers. They offer free parking, litter bags, gloves, litter grabbers, t-shirts and refreshments when they go to clean up an area. Do your part today and let’s keep Palm Beach County beautiful while we protect our local wildlife. Call 734-9128 or email them at sandsifters@sandsifters.org to get involved. Their Web site is www.Sandsifters.org.
As always, I am here to serve you. Your concerns and questions are important to me, so please do not hesitate to contact me at 561-276-1220 or email me at sabrams@pbcgov.org. Also, you can visit my Web site at www.pbcgov.com for up-to-date information concerning Palm Beach County.
Steven L. Abrams,
Commissioner, District IV
Palm Beach County
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Government
