Hold On To Your Butt

The Hold On To Your Butt program works to raise awareness about the environmental impact of cigarette butt
litter on our oceans, waves, and beaches, and to help eliminate cigarette butt litter in our environment. Cigarette
butts account for approximately one in every five items collected during our beach cleanups. Often littered on our sidewalks and streets, they end up in our storm drains, on our beaches, and in the ocean. 
The Environmental Impact of Cigarette Butts:
• An estimated 4.5 trillion cigarette butts are disposed of in our environment annually worldwide. • Cigarette butts leach toxins when wet, posing a threat to marine life. • Litter clean up costs the U.S. over $11 billion annually, cigarette butts represent an estimated 32% of that litter. • Cigarette butts are composed of cellulose acetate, a non-biodegradable plastic, which can take up to 25 years to decompose. • Littered cigarette butts pose a significant fire threat.

Mahalo Manhattan Beach!


Congratulations to the City of Manhattan Beach for achieving an "A" grade in the American Lung Association's 2016 State of Tobacco Control report, released on February 4, 2016! “Manhattan Beach was the star this year,” said John Yi, advocacy director for the American Lung Association’s Los Angeles office. The city moved from a D in the organization’s 2015 report, to an A in the current report (http://bit.ly/1TJhayk). The Surfrider Foundation South Bay Chapter worked closely with the City of Manhattan Beach to encourage adoption of advanced smoking ordinances that not only help to protect the health and wellbeing of residents, visitors, and our members, but also help to significantly reduce the amount of cigarette waste litter leading to a cleaner and healthier environment, in realization of Surfrider's Mission to protect and enjoy our oceans, waves, and beaches.

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