The Keep Mandeville Beautiful organization is tightening its pursuit on butts with the purchase of 6,000 more pocket ashtrays.

In an attempt to curb cigarette litter across Mandeville, KMB launched a trial campaign in February that had local stores distributing pocket ashtrays free of charge to smokers.

KMB Director Susan Russell said it was one of the first organized efforts to crack down on the piles of extinguished tobacco products scattered mostly at major intersections throughout the city. It was a success, Russell said.

The idea behind the ashtrays came after it was reported by the Keep America Beautiful foundation that cigarette butts are the most littered item in America.

Attempting to force smokers to think a few steps ahead, Russell decided to distribute 1,300 pocket ashtrays to different retailers across the city to entice residents to use the pocket-sized devices to extinguish and discard their butts in instead of tossing them out vehicle windows.

“They were all handed out in four days,” Russell said. “The fact that they distributed so quickly indicated to us residents want to use them.”

This prompted KMB to apply for another grant, which they were recently awarded, totaling almost $13,000 to cover the costs of maintaining their campaign efforts.

Although most of the money will be used on the ashtrays, Russell said they are also making other attempts to spread the litter-free bug.

“We’ll also be doing public education as far as using signs and billboards for our ads,” She said. “We’ll also be doing more street cleaning, but I hope the combination of things will make a difference.”

Russell also said she hopes retail shops will catch on to the idea and eventually purchase pocket ashtrays to sell in their stores.