On Tuesday 21 November 2023, we will place special bins at seven locations in Hardinxveld-Giessendam in places where there are many cigarette butts and chewing gum on the streets. These duo bins will be attached to lampposts. We also clean the area around these duo-buddy's. Because clean keeps clean.
Chewing gum and cigarette butt waste is a major underestimated problem worldwide. The small polluters have the biggest impact on our environment and society. It also entails high cleaning costs to remove them all the time. The chewing gum and cigarette butts from the duo gumbudders are collected for recycling.
Fags and chewing gum are so much more harmful to the environment than thought
Few people realise that you are chewing plastic when you have gum in your mouth. The gum used to be made of natural resin, but nowadays it is almost always synthetic rubber.
Fags are also incredibly toxic. On average, a cigarette butt stays in the environment for 12 years, poisons about 8 litres of groundwater and kills plants and animals. 75% of all cigarette butts have a filter and these, like chewing gum and bio-chewing gums, also contain microplastics. These plastics never digest and end up with the groundwater in the sea and possibly via fish later on your plate. So reason enough to throw your cigarette butts and chewing gum in a bin.
Campaign against cigarette butts on the ground
In the fight against filters and cigarettes on the street, we are repeating on social media Facebook and Instagram this month the campaign "Hey Filth! Butts on the ground, you really can't do that anymore." The campaign specifically targets smokers and shows that cigarette butts on the ground are harmful and out of date. The campaign links to the dedicated campaign site with background information.
Together for a waste-free and clean region
Together with municipalities and litter pickers, we are working hard to make the region litter-free and clean. Ashtrays have also been attached to litter bins in the centre of Gorinchem. The results are positive. On average, the ashtrays are more than half full when emptied. So that saves a lot of cigarette butts on the ground. In Hardinxveld-Giessendam and Molenlanden, expression plates are attached to waste bins. This makes it easy to extinguish a cigarette and throw it in the bin. Nevertheless, behavioural change among smokers remains badly needed. We want to contribute to this with the campaign.
Together, we can change patterns. If you want to smoke on the street, make sure you have a pocket ashtray with you.