Dublin City Council has rolled out a major awareness campaign to tackle the growing issue of cigarette litter in Dublin.
Results from the National Litter Pollution Monitoring System for Dublin City Council showed that cigarette litter is the main source of litter, and cigarette butts account for 60% of ALL street litter in the city.
The campaigns aims to raise awareness among smokers in Dublin that cigarette butts are litter, as there is a serious issue with this type of litter in the city, and to help change smokers’ behaviour towards how they dispose of cigarette butts.
The litter report highlighted that cigarette waste, which includes butts, packets, and matches, now accounts for over half of all Dublin street litter, followed by food related litter (19%) and packaging items (9%).
The NLPMS litter report also revealed that Dublin citizens need to take more responsibility for their actions, as the main causes of litter pollution in Dublin City are passing pedestrians (61%), passing motorists (15%), and retail outlets (7%).
Simon Brock, Waste Management Services Officer, Dublin City Council, said: “This report confirms that cigarette litter is still a serious issue in Dublin City; our cleaning teams out on Dublin’s streets everyday are seeing the implications of this problem and the serious effects it’s having on our beautiful city, both visually and environmentally.
We’re asking the people of Dublin to think twice about throwing their cigarette butts on the ground and see it for what it is, litter.’
‘Instead, we want smokers to make a conscious effort to bin their cigarette butt in the nearest bin or suitable container. Everyone has a role to play and we hope that we can reduce these litter statistics in the future.”
A two week outdoor and digital ad campaign is running across Dublin to support the campaign, developed by JWT Folk. Dublin City Council has created an impactful video to support the campaign and help change perception with the people of Dublin around cigarette litter.
