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(Lompoc, CA) – The County of Santa Barbara Health Department’s Tobacco Prevention and Cannabis Education Program (TPCEP) in partnership with Family Resource Agency (FSA), Lompoc Valley Community Healthcare Organization (LVCHO), Future Leaders of America, and Collective Cultures Creating Change (C4) organized Lompoc community members to come together to beautify their neighborhoods during the Lompoc Tobacco Waste Clean-Up Event. The event was hosted on Saturday October 4th, 2025, from 10am-12pm at Lompoc
Valley Middle School and Ryon Park, engaging over 15 volunteers from all over the city. Volunteers collected approximately 65 gallons of trash with 419 pieces of tobacco waste products including cigarette butts, cigars, e-cigarettes, vape devices, cannabis joints, and tobacco product packaging. Volunteers worked to restore cleanliness and safety of Lompoc Valley Middle School, Ryon Park, and surrounding neighborhoods. Despite the City of Lompoc’s smoke-free ordinance for recreational outdoor public spaces, tobacco use persists which poses health risks to all, especially children and individuals with respiratory conditions when in outdoor public spaces.
Cigarette butts remain the most littered item on U.S. roadways, retail zones, storm drains, construction sites and recreational areas. Cigarette butts have toxic remnants that often travel through runoff into storm drains, eventually polluting our rivers, beaches, and ocean.
According to the 2020 Keep America Beautiful survey, an estimated 9.7 billion cigarette butts and 392 million pieces of other tobacco-related items account for nearly 20% of all litter nationwide.
“I loved being part of the Tobacco Waste Clean-up at Lompoc Valley Middle School,” said Brenda Villa, LVCHO Director of Community Programs and Trustee for the Lompoc Unified School District Board of Education.
“It’s more than just picking up litter; it’s a chance to lead by example, protect our health, and show students and the community that we all have a role in taking care of our environment. When we work together, we can make a real difference.”
To learn more about the harmful effects of tobacco and secondhand smoke in our communities, visit UNDO.org. For free support to quit tobacco or vaping, go to kickitca.org or call 1-800-300-8086.
ABOUT TPCEP
TPCEP and its partners remain committed to advocating for smoke-free public spaces and promoting community involvement through initiatives like the Lompoc Tobacco Prevention Taskforce. If you are interested in joining the taskforce or would like for more information about the Tobacco Prevention and Cannabis Education Program, please contact us at tobacco@sbcphd.org.
