Genius Anti-Littering Campaign Puts Cigarette Butts and Gum to Clever Use
Littering is gross.
If you agree, you’re not alone: Polls from U.K. organization Hubbub found that 86 percent of people think littering is a disgusting habit, yet a mere 15 percent of us would actually confront an offender and tell him that.
Bottom line, shaming doesn’t work. So Hubbub came up with a series of clever public projects dubbed #NeatStreets (now trending on Twitter) to help drive awareness about litter on the streets of London. In one, smokers “vote with their butts” on topics like the best soccer player in the world by placing cigarette stubs in divided containers; another bin plays music when a butt is inserted; yet another encourages gum chewers to leave their sticky wads behind on specially designed boards that gradually reveal an image. (Appropriately, this campaign is called “Chew Is It?”)
The more sticky bits and butts left behind, the better these installations look.
Related on Yahoo Makers: This Woman Upcycles Disney’s Trash and Sells It Back to Them
The bigger idea is that keeping streets free of annoying litter not only makes public places healthier, it saves everyone money too. Apparently, it costs about $2.30 to remove each piece of gum dropped on the streets of London, and six tons of it get dropped in the West End alone. (Our jaws just dropped, and our gum fell out. We tossed it in a trash can — promise!)
So let’s all commit to #NeatStreets, not just because of these awesome street projects, but because it’s the right thing to do.
Also on Yahoo Makers:
Bins That Win: 9 Clever Ways to Hide Your Trash Can
Hoarders’ Daughter Finds Healing by Turning Parents’ Stuff Into Art
Trash to Treasure: 6 of America’s Coolest Junkyard Artists
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