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Press Release

CAMDEN COUNCIL'S SMOKING-RELATED LITTER CAMPAIGN KICKS OFF

28 February 2006

Campaigners yesterday (27 February) kicked off Camden Council’s smoking-related litter campaign outside Great Ormond Street Hospital by asking smokers to bin their butts and help keep our streets clean. The campaign, which runs from 27 February to 4 March, will highlight the environmental impacts of cigarette litter and offer alternative solutions to disposing cigarette butts on the streets.

This week campaigners and street wardens will visit ‘hotspots’ around Camden heavily affected by smoking-related litter and encourage smokers and employers to address the problem of smoking-related litter on their premises. The campaign, an offshoot of the Keep Britain Tidy scheme run by ENCAMS (Environmental Campaigns charity), is striking now before next year’s smoking ban sends more smokers outside, leading to a risk of streets becoming a giant ashtray.

Cigarette butts are the most common item of litter within Camden, found at 89 per cent of Camden sites examined in a recent survey. Many smokers blame their littering behaviour on the lack of well-placed bins for cigarette butts. Camden Council’s campaigners plan to trash this excuse by encouraging employers including businesses, office blocks, hospitals, entertainment and eating facilities in Camden to invest in outdoor cigarette bins for their smokers. Street wardens and campaigners will hand out 1500 free ‘butt bags’, a handy plastic pouch with an airtight seal and a square foil inner designed to store butts safely until smokers find a bin.

Cllr John Thane, Executive Member for Environment, Camden Council, said, “Our residents have told us that the quality of their environment and clean streets are among their top priorities. Cigarette butts, boxes and matches are our biggest litter problem, so we need to encourage smokers to dispose responsibly of their rubbish while employers should provide their smokers with the proper facilities for this. Camden Council will work closely with identified buildings in the borough to highlight and monitor the impact of smoking-related litter on their premises and on the surrounding area.”



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Camden Council

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