Leave it to the mayors of Salem and Beverly to turn the ban on indoor smoking into an opportunity for regional cooperation.
Citizens for Salem/Beverly Water Resources, with the encouragement of their respective cities' chief executives, recently applied for and received a grant from the Vermont-based New England Grassroots Fund to purchase some pollution abatement equipment. One of the purchases: 20 cigarette butt receptacles capable of collecting some 20,000 cigarette butts a year.
The receptacles are being made available to organizations holding outdoor events in Salem and Beverly, and have already been deployed at Winter Island Park and the Salem Jazz and Soul Festival.
According to a release, "Cigarette butts are made of cellulose acetate that is non-biodegradable and are the most littered items in the world, excreting more than 60 toxins." Keeping them off the ground, out of the ocean and away from the water supply, seems like a worthwhile endeavor.
And in another commendable instance of cooperation between the two cities, residents of both Salem and Beverly are invited to bring their household hazardous waste items to a collection being held on Saturday, Oct. 2, at Salem High School. A similar event will be held in the spring in Beverly and will also be open to residents of both communities.
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