By Maggie O’Neill, Reno Gazette-Journal

Christi Cakiroglu has learned a lot about trash over the years.

As a result, the 38-year-old executive director of Keep Truckee Meadows Beautiful has an intense love-hate relationship with that thing called litter.

She loves to pick it up, but she hates to find it — especially in open spaces where people illegally dump it.

She also can’t stand the sight of cigarette butts — not only are they the most common piece of trash found at park cleanups, they also take an average of seven years to biodegrade. The plastic filters found in most cigarettes take even more time: hundreds of years, if not longer, she said.

One thing that has changed for Cakiroglu during her years as executive director of Keep Truckee Meadows Beautiful is her tolerance for what is acceptable. It has a mission of creating a cleaner and more beautiful region.

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