1. Cigarette Litter Management City of Melbourne Shelley Ikin Environmental Engineer

2. The City of Melbourne Area of 36.5 sq km CBD, Southbank and surrounding suburbs Large sporting, entertainment and tourist venues Universities Residential population of 58,031 people Daytime working and visiting population of 567,000.

3. Integrated program for cigarette litter Based on an integrated approach as promoted by VLAA –Research –Legislation and enforcement –Education and communications –Incentives –Infrastructure

4. Research

5. Cigarette littering: Research undertaken Study of disposal behaviour, using the observational approach –56% of smokers dispose correctly in the CBD Litter counts –Cigarette butts make up 36% of all littered items

6. Proportions of Littered Items on the Ground

7. Cigarette littering: Research undertaken Walking surveys and staff and community input to identify litter hot spots Identified target market: CBD workers/visitors & students

8. Lessons Learnt from research Important to understand the problem (scale, litter hot spots, cigarette disposal behaviour) and target market before delivering a program Observational studies more useful than litter counts

9. Legislation & Enforcement

10. Environment Protection Act 1970 Authorises EPA, local government & police to issue on-the-spot fines of: –$100 for dropping a butt; –$200 for dropping a lit cigarette; or –Up to $6000 if taken to court. Since June 2003, 60 fines and hundreds of warnings issued by Council.

11. Environment Local Law 1999 Non residential properties are required to: –Contain cigarette litter; and –Maintain the cleanliness of their area. Penalties of up to $500 for failing to comply

12. Kerbside Café Code Windproof ashtrays must be utilised in outdoor dining areas Uphold the cleanliness of the kerbside café site Kerbside café debris, litter or waste must not be swept into stormwater drains Failure to supply windproof ashtrays is a breach of kerbside cafe permit

13. Lessons Learnt: Legislation & Enforcement Avoid issuing infringement notices for littering in locations where bin facilities are inadequate Best to apply enforcement after an education campaign Enforcement program needs to be sustained

14. Education & Communications

15. Education campaigns for smokers Focused on CBD workers, visitors & students Clean Up Your Butts campaign, 2003 Can you afford to litter? - Mock fines, 2003 No Butts About It This is Litter campaign, 2004

16. Education campaigns for businesses Education stepped up with amendment to Environment Local Law in 2003 Letters sent to every non-residential property Advice and assistance on how to comply Ashtrays supplier list

17. Education campaigns for kerbside cafés One windproof ashtray given to each café, together with a list of suppliers Letters to kerbside cafés informing of new requirement Council Officers delivered uncollected ashtrays Media and promotion of the windproof design

18. Using the media Issuing fines elicits media attention Media releases for all education campaigns – statistics to grab peoples attention Radio interviews

19. Lessons Learnt: Education & Communications Need for continual reinforcement of message to achieve a long term behavioural change Difficult to integrate the program across all divisions in a large organisation Follow education programs with an enforcement program Need to evaluate the success of education campaigns and report results both internally & externally

20. Incentives

21. Incentives offer an opportunity to engage people Free / discounted personal ashtrays One free windproof ashtray as a demonstration Lollies: for those observed doing the right thing

22. Lessons Learnt: Incentives Education campaigns have worked best when an incentive is offered Providing free personal ashtrays has delayed the establishment of the retail market in Melbourne

23. Infrastructure

24. Councils infrastructure 100 ashtrays mounted on parking signs 100 ashtrays at tram stops Street litter bins with cigarette ashtray insert

25. Private Infrastructure Observed increase in private ashtrays Limitations: –Smokers congregate at entrances –Ashtrays cannot encroach beyond the property boundary and need to be away from entrances –cost ($100 - $350 per wall-mounted ashtray) –theft

26. Lessons Learnt: Infrastructure Provide line of sight to litter bins Test prototypes of infrastructure Ashtrays must be provided in areas where smokers congregate Site specific solutions are often best Communicate the locations of ashtrays to staff Keep areas clean and provide adequate servicing of ashtrays to help improve disposal behaviour

27. Future Direction Continuing education programs: varying the way messages are conveyed Strive to better integrate all elements of the program across the organisation Evaluate the success of the overall program