Transcript CIGARETTE LITTER PREVENTION PROGRAM

IMPLEMENTING A
CIGARETTE LITTER PREVENTION PROGRAM
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WE BRING PEOPLE TOGETHER TO BUILD VIBRANT COMMUNITIES HOW WILL YOU?
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CIGARETTE LITTER PREVENTION PROGRAM
Cigarette Litter Facts
 What is cigarette butt litter?
– Dropping cigar tips and cigarette butts to
the ground, putting them in planters, and
disposing of them in drains and waterways
is littering
 Cigarette butts are the most littered
item—representing 32% of all items
collected*
 Many smokers don’t consider
tossing cigar tips and cigarette butts
littering
*Source: 2011 Ocean Conservancy International Coastal Cleanup
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CIGARETTE LITTER PREVENTION PROGRAM
Cigar Tips –
an emerging
litter issue
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CIGARETTE LITTER PREVENTION PROGRAM
The Costs of Cigarette Litter
 Residents and businesses pick up the tab
– Requires additional maintenance
– Owners bear expense of cleanup
 Community quality-of-life suffers
– Decline in tourism, foot traffic,
business, and housing development
 Recreation areas become less attractive
– Cigar tips and cigarette butt litter decrease appeal
of nature areas
– Creates fire hazard, impacts local wildlife, and
contributes to lost tourism
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CIGARETTE LITTER PREVENTION PROGRAM
Cigarette Litter and the Environment
 Causes blight
– Accumulates in gutters, along fencing, outside
doorways, and at bus shelters
– Creates sense of disorder
 Cigarette butts don’t disappear
– About 95% of cigarette filters are composed of
cellulose acetate, a plastic which can persist in the
environment*
– Cigar tips, too, are predominantly plastic
 Harmful to waterways and wildlife
– Litter traveling through storm drains ends up in local
streams, rivers, and waterways
– Poses hazard to animals and marine life when they
mistake filters for food
Photo Courtesy Clean Virginia Waterways
*Source: Clean Virginia Waterways
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CIGARETTE LITTER PREVENTION PROGRAM
Cigarette Littering Misconceptions
 Many smokers don’t consider their
behavior littering:
– Some believe dropping cigar tips and
cigarette butts to the ground and stepping
on them is acting responsibly
– Some drop cigar tips and butts into gutters
or storm drains thinking this is a safe way to
extinguish a cigarette
– Some blame littering on lack of ash
receptacles
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CIGARETTE LITTER PREVENTION PROGRAM
Cigarette Littering Misconceptions
 Since it’s small, “it doesn’t matter”
– Only 10% of cigarette butts are deposited in litter
receptacles*
– 35% of smokers toss five or more cigarette butts per
pack on the ground**
 Most cigarette littering occurs at
“transition points”
– Areas where a smoker must extinguish a cigar or
cigarette before proceeding:
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Outside retail stores, hotels, office buildings
Before entering beaches, parks or recreation areas
Bus shelters and train platforms
Roadside rest areas, and parking lots
*Source: Beverage Industry Environment Council. Community Change Pty Ltd.
Understanding Littering Behavior in Australia, June 1997
**Source: iQ Research & Consulting, Keep America Beautiful Pocket Ashtray Study,
January 2008
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CIGARETTE LITTER PREVENTION PROGRAM
How Can a Community Respond?
Implement Keep America Beautiful’s
Cigarette Litter Prevention Program
 Goal:
– Noticeably reduce cigarette butt and cigar tip litter
 Strategies:
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Enforce anti-litter laws
Build public awareness
Install ash receptacles at transition points
Encourage the use of portable auto and pocket
ashtrays
Courtesy of Clean Virginia Waterways
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CIGARETTE LITTER PREVENTION PROGRAM
Program Components
Local Litter Laws
Ash Receptacles
Public Service Ads
Portable Auto and
Pocket Ashtrays
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CIGARETTE LITTER PREVENTION PROGRAM
Consistent Program Results:
Cuts Cigarette Butt Litter in Half
 In 2013, 200 communities averaged
48% reduction in cigarette butt litter
 Over the past eight years, the CLPP
has consistently cut cigarette butt
litter by half based on measurements
taken in the first 4 – 6 months after
program implementation
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CIGARETTE LITTER PREVENTION PROGRAM
Sustainable Program Results
 Following implementation of Cigarette Litter
Prevention Program:
 Cigarette butt litter reductions are sustained or
even increased over time in program area
 In 2012, 101 program areas, with an average
reduction in cigarette butt litter of 53%, one year
later showed an additional reduction of 12%
 Reduction in cigarette butt litter tends to help
reduce overall litter
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CIGARETTE LITTER PREVENTION PROGRAM
2012-2013 Sustainability
140,000
120,000
100,000
80,000
60,000
40,000
20,000
0
Preliminary Scan Data
First Follow-up Scan Data
Sustainability Scan
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CIGARETTE LITTER PREVENTION PROGRAM
How the Program Works
 Gather a Task Force
 Assess needs and establish a budget
 Kick-off Cigarette Litter Prevention
Program
 Evaluate impact
 Sustain and expand
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CIGARETTE LITTER PREVENTION PROGRAM
Gather a task force
 That’s you!
– Who’s missing from the task force?
– Learn about cigarette litter
– Select area for program launch
 Where is cigarette litter a problem? What about cigar
tips?
 Prioritize local areas to target
 Start where task force members can work together
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CIGARETTE LITTER PREVENTION PROGRAM
Possible Program Locations or Venues
 City centers or downtown areas
 Parks and recreation areas
 Beaches, lakefronts, and waterways
(access areas)
 Roadways and highways
 College/university campuses
 Recurring special events
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CIGARETTE LITTER PREVENTION PROGRAM
Assess Needs
 Investigate local litter laws
– Do they include cigarette butt litter? Cigar
tips? Are they enforced? What are the
penalties?
 Conduct cigarette litter scan
– Count cigar tips and cigarette butt litter in
small section of program area
– Preliminary scan identifies key “transition
points”
Cigarette Litter Scan
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CIGARETTE LITTER PREVENTION PROGRAM
Budget and Gather Resources
 Establish a budget
– Purchase, install, and maintain ash receptacles (largest
budget item)
– Order portable auto and pocket ashtrays
– Produce public education and secure media coverage
 Identify potential resources
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In-kind funding
Grants
Government sources
Private resources (businesses and others with a stake in
a clean community)
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CIGARETTE LITTER PREVENTION PROGRAM
Program Kick-Off
 Roll out media
 Ensure ash receptacles
installed
 Distribute
pocket ashtrays
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CIGARETTE LITTER PREVENTION PROGRAM
Evaluate Program Impact
 Conduct follow-up scans
 Conduct first follow-up scan 8 weeks after
full program launch
 Conduct a sustainability scan a minimum of
6 months after first follow-up scan
 Measure program results and impact
 Additional scans recommended for ongoing
tracking
 Report results to the public and media
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CIGARETTE LITTER PREVENTION PROGRAM
Evaluate Program Impact
 Gauge public awareness
– Track media coverage
– Survey residents to measure public
awareness
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CIGARETTE LITTER PREVENTION PROGRAM
Sustain and Expand
 Maintain existing program
– Gather long-term support to keep it going
 Grow the program
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Expand to other priority areas
Enlarge reach of existing program
Scan at regular intervals
Conduct annual “sustainability” scan to
measure program impacts over time
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CIGARETTE LITTER PREVENTION PROGRAM
Program Resources
 Sample litter laws
 Cigarette litter scan field documents
 Ash receptacle, portable auto and pocket
ashtray information
 Public education/media:
– Print ads, PSAs and videos
– Brochures
– Model news releases
 Webinars:
 Program overview
 Conducting a scan
More resources at PreventCigaretteLitter.org
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CIGARETTE LITTER PREVENTION PROGRAM
PreventCigaretteLitter.org
WE BRING PEOPLE TOGETHER TO BUILD VIBRANT COMMUNITIES HOW WILL YOU?
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