Maine Proposes Cigarette Butt Redemptions

Feb. 23, 2001 -- If a Maine legislator has his way, soon the stubby ends of smoked cigarettes that litter roadsides, beaches and lawns could be worth a nickel each.

Under a proposed law, thought to be the first of its kind, all cigarettes sold in Maine would be labeled with 5-cent deposit notices. After paying an additional $1 per pack, smokers could then turn in their used butts to redeem the deposits.

The bill is modeled on bottle and can deposit laws. Supporters of the idea, including Maine inkeepers and some environmentalists, claim it can reduce the amount of ugly stubs littering a state heavily dependent on its stunning landscapes for tourism.

"There are still a lot of people who still think it's a silly idea," says Maine Rep. Scott Cowger, co-sponsor of the bill, "but I think it could work and reduce waste."

The main sponsor of the bill, Rep. Joseph Brooks, D-Winterport, doesn't believe everyone will turn in their butts for nickels. But, he has argued, unredeemed deposits could bankroll an estimated $40 million to $50 million dollars each year for the state. That money could then be used to fund anti-smoking education programs in Maine schools.

Cowger also supposes the program could bolster the struggling industry of bottle redemption centers in the state, since the centers could begin adding butts to their accepted redemptions. He even imagines high school teams and bands raising funds not only by collecting bottles but also by doing "butt drives."

Redeemable McDonald’s Wrappers?

But while many Mainers take pride in the fact that their state was among the first to adopt bottle and can redemption laws, the idea of redeeming stinking cigarette butts for change hasn't yet found much support.

"I don't really want to play around with other people's cigarette butts," says Annie Loadwick, a Mercer, Maine resident who owns a bottle redemption center with her husband, Rick. "I think adults should be responsible for themselves and take care of their own trash."

Cleanliness has been a big sticking point for the bill since some fear encouraging people to pick up used butts could lead to the spread of disease. But Cowger says contact with the litter will be avoided since each pack would come equipped with a plastic bag. Once smokers finish each cigarette, they would place the remains in the attached bag. Redemption workers would then count the number of butts in each bag and deliver the change.

"No one would actually be handling the butts," says Cowger, "only the bags."

Among Maine smokers, who consume an estimated 2.3 billion cigarettes a year, some argue the proposal amounts to an odd form of discrimination.

"If we go to the extreme of putting a redemption on butts, then we might as well do it for all trash," says Rick Loadwick of Mercer who smokes at least one pack of cigarettes a day. "Then we should start turning in McDonald's bag, straws and wrappers for money. It's unfair and ridiculous."

Governor Remains Unconvinced

The Maine Legislature has held a public hearing on the idea and committees are expected to send a version of the bill for a vote in about two weeks. Cowger thinks all the talk the unique proposal has generated bodes well for the bill.

"It's got people talking and I think support is growing," he says.

But even if the bill passes, it may not get by the governor's mansion.

Spokespeople for Maine Gov. Angus King have said the governor does not support the idea. Instead, King has proposed a 26-cent increase in cigarette tax per cigarette pack, which would raise between $35 million to $36 million a year in state revenue for tobacco prevention efforts.

Extra taxes, says King spokesman John Ripley, "are a more realistic approach."