Ten Little Pieces Drives Cigarette Butt SRP on the Sunshine Coast

Cigarette butts are the world’s most common type of marine debris, and have been documented to negatively impact biodiversity, ecosystems, human health, and the economy.

At Alexandra Beach on Australia’s Sunshine Coast, Ten Little Pieces led by Alison Foley conducted a social experiment of cigarette butt littering behaviour modification through the installation of a Cigarette Butt Voting Ballot Box (CBVBB). The area borders the Coral Sea, home to 300 endangered, threatened and vulnerable species including the endangered loggerhead turtles that nest on the region’s beaches and the humpback whales that migrate through these waters.

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Warrnambool Cigarette Butt Bin

A ballot-style cigarette butt bin has been installed near the Pavilion Café in Warrnambool in mid-September 2019 to encourage smokers to do the right thing while helping to answer some burning questions, which will be changed every few months.

The first question was “ Does pineapple belong on a pizza?”

When the bin was inspected on 25^th September, the “NO” side was winning.

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Making cigarette butt bins more visible

Article supplied from the Victorian Litter Action Alliance (VLAA) LitterALLY December Newsletter..

Cigarette butt litter invariably tops the list in litter audits, especially in urban areas. Even though butt bins are a common feature of pedestrian landscapes these days, the problem persists.

A case in point is Halpin Way in central Dandenong, a well-used route from Dandenong Railway Station to the CBD’s offices, civic precinct and retail hub. Landscaping along this corridor includes a number of rain gardens, which despite three butt bins in sight, were becoming ‘butt bins’ themselves.

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Ms No Butts Tackling Butt Litter

From the City of Greater Dandenong website:
There is a common misconception that small amounts of litter don’t have a big effect the environment. This is false. Research shows that it can take more than 12 years for cigarette butt litter to break down, polluting our environment and waterways. All we ask smokers to do is please butt it, then bin it.

One of Greater Dandenong’s most recent residents, Ms NoButts (#msnobutts) also feels very strongly about this matter and thinks that there are no butts about it – Greater Dandenong is not an ashtray. Dropping cigarette butts and small amounts of litter are against the law and attract fines which exceed $6000 if the matter is referred to court.

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Cigarette butts are made out of what?

As part of the Source Reduction Plan workshops that we held earlier this year around Port Phillip Bay, three local projects addressing cigarette butt litter were developed. This included surveying smokers, and we were surprised that many people didn’t realise cigarette butts are actually made out of plastic. To help close this knowledge gap, we’ve created a few resources which you can download from our website.

Cigarette butt meme

Cigarette butt video

Thanks to everyone who got involved in the projects, to Sustainability Victoria and the 7 local government partners for their support!