"Great Indy Butt Out" Contest

City, KIB Invite Local High Schools to Compete in

"Great Indy Butt Out" Contest

The City of Indianapolis and Keep Indianapolis Beautiful, Inc. (KIB) are inviting area high schools to participate in the city's first "Great Indy Butt Out," a competition sponsored by KIB that challenges students to pick up cigarette butt litter -- one of the most prevalent and environmentally hazardous forms of litter.

The cigarette butts collected will be weighed and the total weight will be divided by the number of student participants from each school. The top two schools will be acknowledged by Mayor Ballard at the Great Indy Clean Up Kick Off event, Saturday, April 25. The winners will also have the opportunity to paint environmental murals on two Recycle Indianapolis drop-off recycling bins that are rotated everyday around the city.

Schools must register by Monday, March 23. KIB will provide supplies and students may choose three to five days in April to pick up cigarette butts in the area of their choice.

"Making our city healthier and more sustainable is a community-wide effort that requires participation from residents of all ages," said Kären Haley, Director of the City's Office of Sustainability. "This competition is a great way to engage students in the sustainability effort that's gaining momentum throughout Indianapolis."

"The same old messages about how bad cigarette smoking is for your health may not resonate with students today," said Tammy Stevens, KIB litter and recycling manager. "This is an innovative and fun way to inform them about the hazards of cigarette smoking on their health as well as the impact cigarette butts have on our environment."

Cigarette butts contain harmful chemicals and can take decades to decay. As the butts break down, they release the trapped nicotine which is then flushed into local waterways when it rains. The nicotine trapped in 200 used filters (50 to 60 milligrams) is enough to kill an adult human. Like throwing any litter on the ground, cigarette butts are litter, and littering is illegal.

For more information or to register your school for the "Great Indy Butt Out" contact Tammy Stevens at Keep Indianapolis Beautiful, Inc. 317.264.7555, tstevens@kibi.org or visit www.kibi.org.

Keep Indianapolis Beautiful's mission is to unite people to beautify the city, improve the environment and foster community pride.

Mayor Ballard launched SustainIndy and created the Office of Sustainability in October of 2008. Both represent an innovative enterprise aimed at delivering long-term cost savings to the city, building the local economy, improving our quality of life and enhancing our environmental and public health. Its efforts are designed to aggressively move Indianapolis forward in making it one of the most sustainable cities in the Midwest. For more information, visit www.sustainindy.org.