Tobacco Trash Cleanup Planned

03/31/2014 

Not everything that grows is “green.”

Many people understand that tobacco — banned from the SUNY Cortland campus since January, 2013 — pollutes the environment with secondhand smoke from cigarettes, cigars and other products.

But tobacco products also can pose a threat after they’re discarded. They can be toxic to birds and animals that often mistake them for food, and potentially harmful chemicals can easily leach out of them. Filters don’t biodegrade readily and can remain a part of the landscape for 10 years or more.

With that in mind, the Tobacco Advisory Committee and EAP are sponsoring a campus cleanup devoted to tobacco trash. Although the amount of tobacco litter on campus is relatively small because of the College’s successful ban, the cleanup will extend into the neighborhoods surrounding campus where SUNY Cortland smokers go to light up.

Students, faculty and staff are invited to pitch in anytime between 11 a.m. and 1 p.m. on Wednesday, April 2. Volunteers should meet on the steps of Corey Union, where they’ll be given cleanup tools and assigned an area.

Faculty and staff volunteers are eligible for an hour and a half of release time, with prior approval from their supervisors.

The event is part of Green Days, a community-wide celebration of sustainability and environmental awareness that will run throughout April. For a full schedule of events, visit the Green Days website.

Link: http://www2.cortland.edu/about/sustainability/get-involved/green-days/