Butt Littering

Cigarette butts are over 50% of litter in the ACT yet only 20% of the population smoke. A Butt Free City is a desirable situation for any town or city. In Canberra, we take smoke free and butt littering very seriously. You can no longer smoke in clubs, pubs etc. Nor can you smoke in a variety of stadiums. Littering of any kind is illegal under the Litter Act 2004 . Littering cigarette butts could lead to a $60 on the spot fine.

Butt and Bin it

Keep Australia Beautiful National Litter Index states that the ACT is the worst of all States and Territories for cigarette butt litter. The Index is the only national, twice yearly, quantitative measure of litter in Australia and is based on a methodology that has been refined over 20 years. It details litter by type, by location and by brand and compares between representative sites in each state rather than the full area or population of the state.

Every year, our City cleaners collect the equivalent of the Civic swimming pool full of butts. Most people drop their butts within five metres of a bin. Help us change this behaviour. Rangers at the Cotter, Pine Island, Kambah Pool and other places close to the Canberra’s edge are amazed at the number of piles of butts in carparks as people do a “out of sight out of mind” cleanup of the car ashtray.  These Rangers are primarily employed to care for the plants, animals and landscapes, and cleaning up the rubbish left in nature parks and reserve areas by visitors, takes them away from their core duties. Put it in a bin or carry a personal ash tray and bin it when you get home.

Cigarette butts find their way into the stormwater system, down drains and into our lakes, ponds and water ways. Where ever it ends up, cigarette butts cause environmental damage due to the toxins, tars and chemicals contained within it. They can take from a month to up to fifteen years to break down, depending on where they end up – in water, in the soil, or exposed to air.