We are delighted to share the news that Wimborne War on Waste are collaborating with our colleagues at Litter Free Dorset and Litter Free Purbeck to launch the ‘Bin Your Butt’ campaign this October to tackle the issue of cigarette-related litter.
Our litter picks have found that cigarettes are frequently disposed of incorrectly, and often end up as litter on the pavements or dropped down drains, instead of being extinguished and disposed of in a bin. Butts may be littered without thinking as it has become a socially accepted habit, by those who don’t realise the environmental impact of each dropped butt, or by others who aren’t near a bin or ashtray.
The ‘Bin Your Butt’ campaign aims to increase awareness that:
- Cigarette filters are the biggest plastic polluters – they do not readily biodegrade and can persist in the environment for up to 15 years. A recent Keep Britain Tidy survey found cigarette-related litter present at 79% of surveyed sites.
- Cigarette filters contain toxins and heavy metals that, if littered onto the ground and end up down street drains, can travel into rivers and the sea and leach toxic chemicals into water sources. One study found that a single cigarette butt can contaminate seven litres of water in just one hour.
- Cigarette butts can harm both terrestrial and marine animals that mistake the butts as food. Toxins released from ingested butts can be dangerous, whilst the butts themselves and other ingested pieces of plastic pollution can also accumulate also causing blockages, internal damage and ultimately death.
The campaign is set to be launched in Wimborne and Swanage with campaign artwork displayed in bus shelters and pubs. Free stubby packs will also be available from participating pubs and venues for smokers to use to store their cigarette butts in until they are able to responsibly dispose of them.
Interested in the campaign and want to spread the message further?
Help us by extinguishing your butts and disposing of them in bins! If you can’t see cigarette disposal facilities nearby, why not buy a reusable portable ashtray or pick one up from your local, participating pub, shop or venue as part of the campaign.
Litter Free Dorset would like to invite everyone to support the ‘Bin Your Butt’ campaign.
- Follow the campaign via social media @LitterFreeDrst #BinYourButt
- Print off a poster from our resource hub to stick in your window at home, in your shop/pub/restaurant or in your car!
- Contact Litter Free Dorset at litterfreedorset@dorsetcouncil.gov.uk
For more information contact:
Sarah Wise
Wimborne War on Waste
Email: wimbornewaronwaste@gmail.com
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/WimborneWaronWaste/
https://www.wimborne.info/war-on-waste
or
Sophie Colley
Litter Free Dorset Coordinator
Tel: +44 (0)1305 224826
Email: sophie.colley@dorsetcouncil.gov.uk
Email: litterfreedorset@dorsetcouncil.gov.uk
Web: www.litterfreedorset.co.uk
Facebook : Litter Free Dorset
Twitter: LitterFreeDrst
Instagram: litterfreedorset