They’re small and stout and take a huge amount of abuse. Now, for the first time since the CCID installed hundreds of cigarette-butt bins throughout the City Centre, they’ve been spruced up in preparation for the Festive Season CBD influx.
The 300 cigarette-butt bins are placed strategically around the CBD to encourage smokers to dispose of their butts responsibly. This is the first time they’ve been thoroughly cleaned since the initial bins were introduced to the CBD in 2009 by the CCID’s Urban Management Department.
While the intensive task fell to the department’s Road Maintenance Team, the expertise and materials of the department’s Graffiti Squad came in handy, too.
Explains Kally Benito, assistant manager for CCID Urban Management: “Since the bins are made of concrete and are branded, we had to find a way to clean them without damaging them. Initially, we discovered that a chemical that had been recommended to us for cleaning the bins was too harsh and would damage the branding on the bins. Our Graffiti Squad, which is used to working with a range of different chemicals on various surfaces, suggested an alternative that could be used to clean the bins without compromising them.”
Then the team had to roll up their sleeves and get to work. “They scrubbed the bins using brushes, a special chemical, hand scrapers, thinners and water to remove all the dirt removed.”
The clean-up, which took three weeks to complete, forms part of Urban Management’s preparations for the upcoming Festive Season.
A FAMILIAR SIGHT IN THE CBD
The bins, which are a familiar sight in the CBD, were introduced to encourage smokers to drop their butts in them instead of on the pavement. Initially a small number was introduced in 2009 but by 2010 there were 100 bins on the streets of the Central City. This was due to corporate offices rallying behind the initiative and making requests for additional supplies. These bins have now become a permanent fixture and this year alone, 30 bins were introduced moving the total from 270 to 300 bins across the CCID’s four precincts.
The ciggie bins make a big difference to the amount of litter in the CBD: more than 300kg of cigarette-butt waste is collected by CCID cleaners every month, reducing the amount of litter on the streets.
CCID Urban Management manager Richard Beesley urges smokers to be conscientious and use the bins “not only to protect our environment but to help ensure that the amount of money and resources used to remove illegal cigarette butt litter is spent on other priority areas”.
UNSMOKE CAMPAIGN
The bins are now being used to promote a smoke-free lifestyle by Philip Morris South Africa (PMSA), an affiliate of one of the world’s largest tobacco companies, in partnership with the CCID. In September PMSA, in collaboration with the CCID, launched a campaign for a cleaner Cape Town called the Unsmoke campaign. The campaign, which will be rolled out nationwide, encourages people to rid their life of smoke: “If you don’t smoke, don’t start. If you’re a smoker, quitting is the best choice you can make. If you don’t quit, change to a better alternative.”
The CCID rolls out its own anti-litter campaign, “It’s time to come clean” every year in a bid to encourage people not to litter and to educate them on the cost of picking up and disposing of waste in the CBD.
“It costs the CCID R30 000 per day to clean the CBD of waste, which amounts to nearly R11-million per year,” says CCID CEO Tasso Evangelinos.
IMAGES: CCID