Posted by Sudbury Northern Life
Harry Welch, an 82-year-old Coniston senior, hates cigarette butts left lying around.
The former marina owner has taken it upon himself to provide an
attractive and cheap means of encouraging smokers to butt out
in his recycled containers.
"Cigarette butts last for years. I am pushing hard this year to get them off the ground," said Welch.
He goes to the local dump and scavenges recycled materials that could be made into containers. Then he sets them up in places where smokers congregate, such as outside the Coniston arena or in front of the nearby Colonial Inn on Cedar Street.
After about a month and a half, he arrives at the site, retrieves the container, and empties it.
"I collected 1,022 butts in eight weeks from both the arena and the Inn. I also collected 234 butts from my container outside of Imperial Collision on the Kingsway," he proudly noted.
If more people quit smoking, there would be less of a need for his free community service. But Welch is cynical about that.
"If people quit smoking what would the government do for revenues?"
Welch admitted to smoking once.
"My brother and I tried to smoke my granddad's corn cob pipe when I was eight. I got so sick I never tried smoking again."
Welch said a highlight of his environmental work was running into top Canadian environmentalist David Suzuki in Coniston.
"I saw him at the Colonial Inn when he was in town for a ceremony at Laurentian University recently.
He was having breakfast so I did not want to bother him. But I did tell him he was crazy, like a fox. He seemed like a nice guy," said Welch.
Though he admits his environmental days are numbered at his age, Welch finds hope in the younger generation.
"I admire them. I think the ones coming up next will be even better and do the right thing for the environment."
Welch said he has been trying to get city officials and the mayor interested in getting behind his low cost butt containers.
"I have contacted them, but no luck so far."
