Media Release                                            

Keep Houston Beautiful Day to Include
Cigarette Butt Scavenger Hunt

Volunteers sought to remove most commonly
littered item on Texas roadsides: tobacco trash

[Houston , TX] [April 11, 2007 ] It’s time to rid Houston streets of tobacco trash! Keep Houston Beautiful is seeking volunteers to improve Houston’s public spaces, streets and sidewalks through participation the Don’t Mess with Texas Trash Trash-Off and Keep Houston Beautiful Day on Saturday, August 14, 2007. Volunteers are eligible to win prizes for collecting the most cigarette butts as part of a citywide Cigarette Butt Scavenger Hunt. Prizes donated by Houston sponsors include bicycles, gas grills, cash, and cigarette ash receptacles.

St. Monica’s Catholic Church, 8421 West Montgomery, Houston, Texas 77088, is serving as the check-in site for participating groups, and volunteers from the church’s Youth Sports Program are coordinating the event.  Registration begins at 8:00 a.m. and groups must return by 1:00 p.m. to have their tobacco waste weighed for the chance to win prizes. To volunteer for the event call 713-839-8855 or visit www.houstonbeautiful.org.

Tobacco trash is the predominant form of litter found on Texas roadsides, with 23 percent of Texas smokers admitting to tossing their butts out the window. Food wrappers are almost as problematic as tobacco trash, comprising 29 percent of all litter compared with tobacco’s 33 percent. Lottery tickets, ID cards and cash are some of the more unusual items volunteers around the state have collected while picking up litter at the Don’t Mess with Texas Trash-Off.

Trash-Off is Texas’ largest single-day clean up when tens of thousands of people volunteer to beautify the state. Now in its 21^st year, Trash-Off is a partnership between Keep Texas Beautiful and the Texas Department of Transportation. The event serves as Texas’ event of the Great American Cleanup, taking place March 1- May 31. The Don’t Mess with Texas Trash-Off began in 1986 to encourage the public to refrain from littering for one designated day.

About Keep America Beautiful

As a national award-winning Keep America Beautiful affiliate, Keep Houston Beautiful has worked with all segments of the community for more than 30 years to educate and empower individuals to take greater responsibility for beautifying and enhancing Houston’s environment. Each year’s successes have created a cleaner and healthier city for all Houstonians.  For more information, visit www.houstonbeautiful.org.

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