Tobacco company JTI has announced two new schemes designed to change consumer behaviour around cigarette butt littering.
The #IGiveAButt campaign and partnership with Keep Wales Tidy look to tackle the problem by encouraging adult smokers to take more responsibility when it comes to discarding their cigarette butts.
The move from the company to invest in these initiatives is based on consumer insight, which highlighted that only 47% of adult smokers think enough is being done to eradicate cigarette butt litter on the streets of the UK.
As part of the #IGiveAButt campaign, JTI is providing a new portable Stub Tidy that acts as a temporary way to hold cigarette butt litter until a standard bin becomes available.
The scheme is to be piloted among 5,000 smokers via a nationwide digital sampling campaign in conjunction with the Daily Mail and Metro.
Adult smokers across the country will be able to request their free #IGiveAButt Stub Tidy from 24 September by visiting the Daily Mail / Metro websites.
JTI has also invested in out of home advertising, including digital sheets and billboards, which will be strategically placed around four central London train stations to educate and remind adult smokers about the importance of discarding their cigarette butt waste responsibly.
To continue momentum on a more local level, the second campaign, in conjunction with Keep Wales Tidy, is planned to launch later this year when local Covid-19 restrictions in South Wales have been lifted. This will pilot a fresh approach to engaging with smokers on litter. Working alongside behaviour change experts, they will test the impact of positive messaging on smoking-related litter levels in Abertillery, Ebbw Vale and Tredegar.
The bilingual messages will remind smokers to dispose of their litter responsibly, using the hashtags #TidyButts and #BonionTaclus. Monitoring and perception surveys will take place to better understand the impact of the campaign as well as to raise awareness on smoking-related litter.
Charlie Cunningham-Reid, corporate affairs and communications vice oresident at JTI UK, commented: “Our main aim is to encourage a change in the behaviour of adult smokers and make them think twice about how they discard of their cigarette butt litter. A litter-free environment is of benefit to everyone, so it’s important that adult smokers understand their responsibility and become more conscious of ensuring their waste is properly disposed of.
“Both of these campaigns give us the chance to test and evaluate how effective these practical and educational initiatives are, before potentially rolling out the initiatives further. We are keen to play our part as a responsible manufacturer and bring tangible changes and results to help reduce the impact on our environment.”
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