More butts, not fewer, found after public service push to keep Knox beautiful

KNOXVILLE, Tenn. (AP) — After a summertime public service campaign about cigarette butts in Knox County there are more of them, not fewer.

The group Keep Knoxville Beautiful launched the campaign after a canvass of 0.2 miles of Maynardville Highway on June 1 turned up 1,386 butts.

Volunteers collected the spent cigarettes again on Aug. 31 and found 1,493 of them.

Beautification group executive director Allison Teeters told The Knoxville News Sentinel she hopes the increase was because of the summer tourist season.

But Teeters said some people who would never think of throwing out other trash don't think twice about flipping a cigarette butt from a vehicle.

Teeters said the group plans to do another scan at the end of September.