Complaints about cigarette butts in the streets and on beaches in Port Douglas in Far North QLD led Tangaroa Blue and the Douglas Shire Council to host a litter source reduction plan workshop in December last year and now the community is invited to join in to implement the cigarette butt litter project in the region!
The first step was to identify where the cigarette butts were being littered, so Tangaroa Blue joined Council for an audit early in the morning, before the street sweepers came through the main street to see where the cigarette butt hotspots were – you can see the map with January’s audit here.
The next step is to engage the main street businesses in the project and look at cigarette butt infrastructure – from personal to the permanent cigarette butt bins.
At the moment we are asking community members to collect their mint tins and drop them off at one of eight drop-off places before the end of January. These tins will be re-branded as personal ashtrays and be given out to smokers.
Drop off locations: Mossman Library, Mossman Council offices, Bendigo Bank Port Douglas, Wildlife Habitat, Port Douglas Council office, Wavelength Outer Reef Cruises at the Marina, Port Douglas State School and Sparrow Coffee.
We also have a smokers survey. We’d love to hear from smokers what they think will help to reduce cigarette butt litter. If you are or have been a smoker please help us by answering this short anonymous survey (this survey is NOT about quitting smoking or the health impacts of cigarettes).
We would like to thank the Australian Government’s Community Heritage Icon grant for funding the Source Reduction Plan workshop in Port Douglas.
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