Cigarette Litter Reduction

Vancouver, Canada

About the city. Nearly one million cigarette butts are littered in Vancouver every day.

Goal

The aim of the project is to reduce waste and as a consequence reduce fires caused by careless handling of a cigarette.

Implementation period. Generally, the work started in 2013 and continues to this day.

Fact

Carelessly discarded cigarette butts are a frequent cause of fires. In Vancouver, an average of 71 fires each year are caused by smoking. Smoking-related fires caused $15 million in losses between 2011 to 2017.

Solutions

The city authorities have focused on five main ways that can improve the situation:

1. Pocket Ashtray Pilot Program

To reduce harmful cigarette butt litter, the city authorities have launched the Pocket Ashtray Dispenser pilot. They are easy to use, prevent fires, protect our water, and reduce litter. The authorities began distributing them for free in the summer of 2019. Moreover, nowadays the ashtrays are handed out for free at outreach events or at community centres, libraries and the City hall.

The idea is to keep the cigarette butt inside until you can throw it away.

2. The cigarette butt recycling pilot program
The program launched in November 2013 with the installation of approximately 100 cigarette recycling bins on several blocks within four downtown business improvement areas. The receptacles have been successful in reducing cigarette butt litter by keeping nearly 30 pounds of cigarette butts per month – that’s about 30,000 butts per month.

3. Fines
Discarding cigarette butts on the ground is littering and subject to a minimum fine of $100 up to $10,000 under the Street and Traffic Bylaw No. 2849.

4.QuitNow

QuitNow is the free quit smoking program of the Government of British Columbia, delivered by the British Columbia Lung Association.

5. Signs
In 2019, Langford Fire Rescue put up signs where staff has extinguished human-caused fires to make people more aware of how they’re disposing of cigarettes and the consequences.

Challenges

The cigarette butt recycling pilot program.
Problem. People were exposed to secondhand smoke because some of the bins were mounted within six metres of doors, windows, and air intakes.Solution. The city has committed to moving containers that are within the bylaws six-metre buffer zone.

Team

The City of Vancouver, TerraCycle Canada is a company that accepts difficult-to-recycle items like cigarette butts. Moreover, the Government of British Columbia and the British Columbia Lung Association in terms of the QuitNow program.

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