MOVES are being made to stub out cigarette litter by installing a special bin on Lyme Regis seafront which asks smokers a question.

The Bin Your Butt initiative, a project between Litter Free Dorset and Lyme Regis Town Council, aims to encourage smokers to bin their butts and reduce cigarette litter around the town.

The 'ballot bin' gives smokers a chance to answer a question - that will be changed on a weekly basis - with two possible answers.

Smokers can vote by putting their cigarette butt in the slots underneath their preferred answer.
Studies have shown that smokers find ballot bins engaging and say they are more likely to use them and it is proven to reduce cigarette butt litter by 46%.

According to a national survey, up to 70% of cigarette butts are dropped in our towns and open spaces.

Lyme Litter Pickers co-ordinator, Janet Breeze, said: "Our volunteer litter pickers consistently report that cigarette butts are the most common item they collect.

"During a recent survey we conducted in collaboration with the Marine Stewardship Council, 133 butts were collected along just 100 metres of our beautiful beach."

As it stands, cigarette butts are the most common form of litter in the world, with an estimated 4.5 trillion cigarette butts thrown away every year.

The Bin Your Butt initiative also addresses environmental concerns - crucial for a coastal town like Lyme Regis where anything left or dropped on the ground will eventually end up in the sea.

Cigarette butts have a significant impact on the environment as they contain plastic and are the greatest single source of marine litter, ranking even higher than plastic bags and straws.
The filters used in cigarettes are a type of plastic that takes years to break down and remain in our environment forever. Likewise, the paper is not biodegradable so takes years to degrade when left in the environment.

Emma Teasdale, project officer at Litter Free Dorset, said: "We are excited to launch this new facility in Lyme Regis and to see the impact it has on cigarette litter in the town.

"The ballot bin also adds an element of fun to an otherwise unpleasant problem. We are delighted to have the support of Lyme Litter Pickers as well as the town council, and we look forward to seeing a reduction of cigarette litter in Lyme over the coming months."