City of Sydney launches anti-butt campaign

In an effort to discourage smokers from discarding their cigarette butts on the street, the City of Sydney has launched the YUK anti-butt campaign. From 17 September to 2 October, visitors to Wynyard Park will find a 2 x 5 m Perspex sign made out of cigarette butts, spelling out the word “yuk”.

The thousands of cigarettes stuffed into the sign were handpicked by the City of Sydney’s cleansing crews as a visual reminder of the estimated 7.2 billion cigarette butts that become litter in Australia each year. Lord Mayor Clover Moore said the campaign aims to reduce the number of butts littered in city streets, footpaths and gutters.

“It is a shocking scenario that hundreds of thousands of discarded butts wash into Sydney Harbour and other waterways each year, where they cause serious environmental damage,” Moore said.

“Discarded butts leach toxic elements such as cadmium, lead and arsenic into water and soil as they decompose.”

Moore says the City regularly receives complaints from the community about cigarette butts littering streets and public places. Cigarette butts, chewing gum and illegal dumping are three of the biggest challenges in keeping the city clean.

Every year, cigarette butts top the list of items picked up by volunteers taking part in the Clean Up Australia campaign. Yet surveys show many smokers think their butts are small and insignificant, so it doesn’t matter if they drop them on the ground.

As part of the YUK campaign, the City will distribute 1000 personal ashtrays to its Neighbourhood Service Centres. The ashtrays are compact and connectable to a key chain, offering smokers a free and convenient alternative to littering their butts when they’re not near a rubbish bin.

For more information, visit http://cityofsydney.nsw.gov.au/live/waste-and-recycling/clean-streets/yuk-cigarette-butts.