What is the Situation with Cigarette Related Litter ... - Keep Britain Tidy

7 Conclusion and RecommendationsCigarette related litter is an important environmental issue, as demonstrated by its topposition as the most common litter item. However, it is currently managed in a disparatenature across England, with little co-ordination between stakeholders.Prevention of cigarette litter can be achieved by changing the littering behaviour ofsmokers through education, improved ashtrays and infrastructure, improved streetscapedesign, and enforcement of legislation. The challenge is getting the balance ‘right’between these elements.While many solutions to cigarette litter are in place to some extent, some preliminaryrecommendations to enhance these solutions are described below. This provides initialguidance for the proposed Cigarette Litter Action Group, and will form the basis of theirdiscussion and future actions.7.1 Research and monitoringResearch about the impacts of cigarette litter is based on few scientific reports. The bestindication of cigarette litter in the environment is measured through the LEQSE. Therecommendations about research / monitoring are:• Observations about smokers littering behaviour has not been undertaken in theEnglish context. This could be considered.• An accessible, repeatable monitoring methodology could be developed to measurethe quantity of cigarette butts in the environment, and therefore better understandthe impact of interventions.7.2 Education and CommunicationEducation campaigns currently target smokers, encouraging them to change theirlittering behaviour through a call to action, the supply of ashtrays and advertising. Therecommendations about education / communication are:• The successful ENCAMS cigarette-related litter campaign could be repeated in thefuture, to build on the momentum it has generated. The learnings from the 2006campaign should be built into the 2007 campaign. Future smoker related educationcampaigns could be targeted toward smokers in specific cigarette litter hotspotscontexts (eg smokers outside office buildings, smokers in pubs, smokers in vehicles).• Specific education / communication programmes could be conducted withstakeholders other than smokers to generate broader community awareness of theissue. This could include:oooretailers (eg tobacconists, supermarkets), including the distribution ofpractical solutions such as portable ashtrays.pubs/hotels, with an emphasis on preparedness for the litter implicationsfollowing the smoking bans in 2007.magistrates, police and other officials who are involved with high endenforcement of litter legislation, including the importance of the issue andthe need to increase enforcement to discourage littering.Situation Report - Final 33