Is throwing cigarette butts onto the floor the last socially accepted form of littering? What can be done to change people’s behaviour, asks Philippa Ward, a partner at Global Action Plan.
I’ve often wondered why the rules that apply to littering don’t seem to apply to cigarette butts. Walking through London, past solitary smokers outside offices, or bars with huddles enjoying cigarettes with their pints, I’ve watched people cast their finished fag into the gutter without a second thought. I’m pretty sure that the same people would flinch from chucking their empty coffee cup or crisp packet into the street. It is a socially acceptable form of littering.
However, I’m not taking notice because I want to bash smokers. I am interested because this is a perfect illustration of social norms – something that people do because everyone else does it – which is a key component of behaviour change psychology. Behaviour change has to be part of the solution to any environmental problem, whether energy reduction or more public transport use.
Attention on those used butts might become more pressing, with a recent research report that garnered quite a bit of media attention. Apparently, 4.5 trillion of these cigarette ends are thrown away into the streets each year. This is a bad thing because they contain harmful chemicals that pollute water supplies, as well as being non-biodegradable. The report suggests a number of ways to halt the harmful effects:
• Increasing public awareness
• Put more responsibility on the manufacturer
• Label cigarette packets
• Set up deposit/return schemes
• Legislate against the tobacco industry
• Banning the product
From a behaviour change perspective, these are a combination of wishful thinking and complex solutions that will take a long time and be subject to a lot of lobbying.
We know that giving the public more information won’t translate to action – the fact that people still smoke at all is testament to this. Placing more responsibility on business can be a good complement to other measures but is rarely the whole solution. Legislation and bans take time and still require the support of public opinion.
And call me cynical - but I struggle to imagine smokers collecting their used cigarette butts, carrying round with them, and returning them to a central deposit for a small amount of change.
It isn’t enough that people know what the problem is. You need to make sure they have the ability and motivation. So as well as awareness, some people might change behaviour because of pride in their neighbourhood, or so they aren’t seen as litter louts. Then look at the barriers that will stop them – force of habit? Lack of anywhere to put the butts? Finally, you put in place triggers (on cigarette packets or outside pubs) to remind them to act.
Behaviour change is tough. It requires bespoke solutions with different audiences and a degree of thoughtfulness beyond information campaigns or banning things. Yet it is also the thing that will get long-term results. With environmental issues, that is what we need above all.
