Media Release: November 2009
South East Resource Recovery Regional Organisation of Councils (SERRROC) and a number of its Councils are running a campaign to encourage smokers to properly dispose of their cigarette butts.
SERRROC was fortunate to have Wendy Jones, CEO of the Butt Littering Trust, based in Melbourne open its regional campaign launch.
Below are comments which summarise the key points she made at that launch.
Just who is littering their butts….and why?
That’s the question that the Butt Littering Trust set out to answer in a major piece of national behavioural research set to be officially launched in Sydney on 26 November 2009.
However the end of November release date did not stop the Trust’s Executive Director Wendy Jones from providing a preview of the findings at SERRROC’s Don’t be a Tosser cigarette butt litter campaign launch on 13 October in Queanbeyan.
Participants at the launch were introduced to the three key segments identified by the research – the apologist, the rationalist and the defensive; where the issue of butt littering fits into their agenda; how they rationalise their butt littering and the most compelling messages that are likely to drive behaviour change going forward such as the impact that butt litter has on the environment.
While the justification for littering centred around lack of bins or ashtrays, along with the perception that ‘everyone else is doing it’ it was stressed that for behaviour change to take place, the way we communicate with smokers who drop their butts is critical, both in the tone of the message and the need for motivating language.
The importance of not using ‘blaming’ language, encouraging the transfer of facts about the problem, encouraging positive behaviour, respectful non-aggressive language and inviting conversation rather than dictating to smokers who litter were all highlighted.
The need to highlight the problem of butt littering through public awareness and the implications of butt litter were also identified. Many are yet to still consider butt littering a big issue suggesting that because butts are so small they are often seen as insignificant or less significant than other litter. Failure to understand that they simply do not disintegrate, and not made from paper and cotton but rather a type of plastic, was another widely held misconception.
The research ‘Understanding Attitudes & Behaviours Behind Cigarette Butt Littering’ will be available from the Trust’s new website www.buttfree.org.au following the launch coinciding with the Trust’s rebranding to Butt free Australia.
The Butt Littering Trust was established in 2003, as an independent product stewardship forum. The Trust is Australia’s leading organisation on butt littering reduction and provider of Butt Free Solutions. For further information call Wendy Jones on 03 9898 0087 or
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or visit www.buttlitteringtrust.org
Notes about the Author:
Wendy Jones was appointed as Executive Director of the Butt Littering Trust in December 2008. The Butt Littering Trust is an independent product stewardship organisation with a vision for a Butt Free Australia. The Trust seeks to be recognised as Australia’s leading organisation on butt littering reduction and provider of Butt Free Solutions to reduce cigarette butt littering through behaviour change programs.
Prior to joining the Trust, Wendy held the role of Chief Executive Officer of Keep Australia Beautiful Victoria for nearly two years.
Wendy previously spent ten years in Darwin, primarily as the Executive Director of Tourism Training NT, returning to Melbourne in 1998 to run her own hotel in regional Victoria. From there, she was invited to join Restaurant & Catering Victoria as its Chief Executive Officer, a position she held for over five years.
In her early career, Wendy held numerous positions in the Victorian Public Service in human resource management, before moving into the tourism and hospitality industry, and now the environment sector.
