Pocket Ashtrays preserve ecosystems, prevent fires, & protect water.
Since anti-smoking campaigns started smoking rates have steadily declined throughout most of the world but it could be argued that smoking-related litter not only persists but with the loss of accessible public ashtrays and vehicle ashtrays, cigarette litter is becoming a more serious problem than ever.
Not only does the litter persist but smoking still tops the list for the causes of wild and residential fires.
Cigarette butts do not biodegrade – their filters are made of plastic (cellulose acetate) which depending on the environment can take decades to break down. On average approximately 15% of the North America population still smokes (over 54 million smokers!)
All of this equates to an environmental, public health and fire risk that can no longer be ignored.
Luckily sometimes the biggest problems have simple solutions.
Step #1: Empower the individual
Pocket Ashtrays allow volunteers, public service workers and pro-active citizens to engage directly with smokers and non-smokers alike in a form of educational outreach which is incredibly effective.
“Where Pocket Ashtrays have been distributed in this fashion cigarette related litter is reduced by over 80% and the presence of other ‘little litter’ or ‘micro-litter’ has also noticeably decreased.”
*Not only do Pocket Ashtrays reduce litter on site but smokers take their ‘PA’ home, to work, to school and everywhere they go, keeping butts and other litter off the ground in all the beautiful places they visit and by doing so they also do an excellent job of promoting the place they received their handy pouch.*
Step #2: Collecting Cig Butts Makes Cents
Keeping butts off the ground is only the first step. If we really want to prevent those toxic little filters from poisoning our environment then we need to Recycle them!
This is how it’s done:
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Set up a centralized cigarette butt collection bin
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Make sure everyone knows to empty their Pocket Ashtrays into it and continue to use their Pocket Ashtrays for years.
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Once your Butt Bin is full, contact us for a complimentary shipping label. Then empty the butts into a bag, package and ship off to Terracycle.
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Butts are then recycled and money is earned for our fire prevention initiative.
Step #3: Educational outreach
We’ve hit the streets in cities and festivals all over North America testing out the best ways to approach people with our product and spread the message “leave no trace”. Education is Key, and how you approach and present information makes a huge difference.
That’s why we want to share what we’ve learned with you to assure our Pocket Ashtrays have the most positive impact possible.
We can train your staff / volunteers in effective outreach techniques and implementation of cigarette butt collecting for the purpose of recycling.
To learn a BUTTload of educational info, check out our friends at www.wheredobuttsgo.org