Kay Pike of Plastic Free Axminster offers her latest tip to cut down on litter and waste in our community

4,000,000,000,000 (that's trillion) cigarette butts pollute the planet annually!

Cigarette butts are the most littered item on the planet, blown by the wind, washed into our drains by the rain, escaping into the waterways and then our oceans.

People think they are being tidy by putting them in the public drains and do not realise that they eventually make their way into our rivers and oceans to be eaten by marine life and birds who mistake them for food. Those cigarette ends left on the ground are equally polluting.

Did you know that cigarette butts contain plastic, arsenic, nicotine and lead? They are hazardous to animals and birds and even affect plant growth, researchers have found.

So if you smoke, why not invest in a pocket ashtray from as little as £2.50 to keep in your handbag or pocket? After all, if a sizeable smart phone can fit in a pocket, then one of these would be a cinch.

Alternatively, why not buy one as a present; a nice stocking-filler.... in fact buy one now, why wait for Christmas!