Litter Free Dorset has partnered with businesses around Weymouth Harbour to install new cigarette butt bins as part of a trial aimed at reducing litter in the area.
The Ship Inn, The Kings Arms, and The Old Rooms Inn are hosting wall-mounted butt bins, while The Anchor (Rendezvous) is home to an interactive Ballot Bin which encourages smokers to ‘vote with their butts’ instead of dropping them on the ground. The Ballot Bin poses a question with two answer slots, and as cigarettes build up behind the windows, it creates a sense of competition while encouraging responsible disposal of cigarette butts.
Partner businesses have also been supplied with stubby packs to pass on to their customers. These pocket-sized heatproof pouches are designed to make it easier for smokers to store their cigarette butts while on-the-go, before emptying them into a bin later.
Cigarette butts remain one of the most commonly littered items worldwide, and Weymouth is no exception. In a pre-trial audit of a 200-metre stretch of Custom House Quay, Litter Free Dorset discovered over 600 cigarette butts littered on the ground, as well as over 300 inside highway drains. Though small, cigarettes contain plastic and over time will break down into microplastics that remain in the environment forever, while leaching toxic chemicals that pollute our waterways and harm wildlife.
This initiative forms part of Litter Free Dorset’s #MyWeymouth project, in which they are trialling a range of interventions to tackle litter at identified hotspots across the town.
Victor Szkolski, owner of the King’s Arms, said:
“We’re delighted to be a part of the #MyWeymouth project and to give our customers a convenient way to dispose of their cigarette waste responsibly, playing our part in protecting the natural beauty of Weymouth Harbour.”
Litter Free Dorset will evaluate the success of the bins by conducting litter audits to measure how much litter, particularly cigarette waste, is present before and after the initial trial period. The team will also record the weight of waste collected in each bin and gather feedback from the partner businesses throughout the trial to assess effectiveness. Following analysis, there is potential for the bins to remain in place permanently.
The project follows a recent community survey completed by over 200 Weymouth residents, alongside a focus group to gather locals’ opinions and ideas around reducing litter. The project has also involved workshops with eco groups from Wey Valley Academy and Budmouth Academy to ensure the voices of local young people are represented.
Joanna Dant, Litter Free Dorset Project Officer, commented:
“We’re excited to be carrying out these litter intervention trials in Weymouth which will help us identify the most effective behaviour change techniques and will guide the rollout of a wider range of evidence-based litter reduction measures across Dorset.”
For more information about the #MyWeymouth project, visit #MyWeymouth – Litter Free Dorset
