Media Release: 17 May 2010
Cigarette butt litterers and their excuses are being targeted in a national campaign by Butt Free Australia to encourage personal responsibility to dispose of cigarette butts correctly. Butt FREE City Week 2010 launches across Australia today with the message: Butt littering, it’s not a good look.
With most butt litterers quick to rationalise their behaviour – the lack of bins, the (mistaken) idea that butts break down easily or the thought that just one small butt couldn’t possibly harm the environment, this campaign aims to focus on litterers taking personal responsibility for their cigarette butts and encouraging social pressure towards butt littering being an unacceptable behaviour.
“There really are no excuses – we all know that butt littering is not a good look and we’re tacking this with indisputable facts to educate, engage, enable and empower litterers and non-litterers,” said Wendy Jones, Executive Director of Butt Free Australia.
“With around 7 billion butts littered nationally each year, cigarette butts are the single largest contributor to litter in this country.
“There’s a real danger young children will put cigarette butts they find in streets, parks or at the beach in their mouth. Butts can wash from streets into waterways and be mistaken for food by fish, birds and other animals, and the fire danger if thrown from a car window is obvious,” said Jones.
Launching alongside the Butt FREE City street-based education campaign is a new website, notagoodlook.com.au. Whether you’re sick of seeing discarded butts everywhere or you know you shouldn’t drop them, the website enables you do something practical about it.
This includes the ability to obtain a free personal ashtray in return for a pledge to PLEASE BUTT IT, THEN BIN IT®, a poster explaining that butt littering is not a good look and the ability to send an email to a friend or colleague advising about the impacts of butt litter.
“The frustrating part is that most people know they shouldn’t litter and it’s not a good look for their city,” added Jones.
Butt FREE City 2010 is in partnership with nine champion cities: Brisbane, Canberra, Gosford, Melbourne, Mildura, Parramatta, Port Adelaide Enfield, Townsville and Wollongong.
The ‘Not a Good Look’ message will be taken to the streets with posters, fact sheets
and personal ashtrays available at various locations in participating cities during 17 – 21 May, 2010.
For more information please visit notagoodlook.com.au.
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For further information contact:
Additional information on Butt FREE City 2010
Cath Allen
Connecting Images for Butt Free Australia
m. 0408 039 931
e.
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Wendy Jones
Butt Free Australia
m. 0418 172 400
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Background to ‘Not a Good Look’
The ‘Not a Good Look’ campaign was developed to raise the awareness of the problem of cigarette butt littering in the broader community and to change the behaviour that causes it. It was developed in response to the findings of behavioural research undertaken last year by research company Millward Brown.
The national research, ‘Understanding attitudes & behaviour behind cigarette butt littering’, was released in November 2009 to coincide with the launch of the new Butt Free Australia brand and website, www.buttfree.org.au
The Bigger Picture
Currently, nearly one in two of all items found in the litter stream are cigarette butts (according to the Keep Australia Beautiful National Litter Index). Working with strategic partners and through some very proactive communication campaigns, Butt Free Australia is using the research findings to work towards reducing this number.
About Butt Free Australia
Butt Free Australia is a product stewardship organisation focussed on reducing the environmental impact of cigarette butt littering. Product stewardship initiatives provide avenues for everyone involved in a product chain to share responsibility for the products they produce, handle, purchase, use or discard.
British American Tobacco Australia (BATA) funded the establishment of the independent Butt Littering Trust (now trading as Butt Free Australia) in 2003. The Trust has always openly acknowledged its origins, and that BATA is still its major contributor.
Butt Free Australia’s activities include: social and behavioural research, awareness raising initiatives such as ‘Not a Good Look’, resource development and on-the-ground projects including Butt FREE City, a nationwide initiative run in partnership with many city councils, or other key stakeholders around Australia.
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