Each Ballot Bin displays a question and two answers. Smokers vote by putting their cigarette butt in the slots underneath their preferred answer. The litter stacks up behind the clear glass front in two columns, showing which answer is more popular.
The questions can be easily changed by the Ballot Bin owner. They can be funny, topical, provocative – whatever works for your audience.
Studies show that proposals to decrease cigarette butt pollution have been largely ineffective, with cigarette butts consistently being the single most collected item in beach clean-ups and litter surveys.
Smokers find the Ballot Bins much more engaging than alternative ashtrays and are more likely to use them. Independent evaluation shows the Ballot Bin reduces cigarette butt litter by 73%.
A Poisonous Problem
Cigarette butts are the most common form of litter in the world, with an estimated 4.5 trillion cigarette butts thrown away every year.1
Cigarette filters are made from cellulose acetate, a type of plastic that can take up to 13 years to break down.2
Butts not only leak harmful toxins into the environment, young children and wildlife are also at risk from ingesting them.
In fact, they are the greatest single source of marine litter, ranking even higher than plastic bags and straws, and have been commonly found in the stomachs of fish, birds, whales and other marine creatures.3
The Ballot Bin seeks to tackle this problem, with independent evaluation showing that the Ballot Bin reduces cigarette butt litter by 73%.
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1Slaughter E, Gersberg RM, Watanabe K, et al. Toxicity of cigarette butts, and their chemical components, to marine and freshwater fish. Tobacco Control 2011;20: i25-i29.
2 Joly, & Coulis. (2018). Comparison of cellulose vs. plastic cigarette filter decomposition under distinct disposal environments. Waste Management, 72, 349-353.