Hi-tech war on cigarette butts aims to clean up city

DRONES and artificial intelligence (AI) are being used as part of a campaign to rid Bristol’s streets of cigarette butts.

Clean Up Britain (CLUB) and its partner Ellipsis Earth deployed drones for 10 days in November to survey the city to establish a benchmark of cigarette rubbish levels - and it will be repeated at the end of the campaign.

The survey is part of a broader fourmonth campaign entitled ‘Get Your Butt Off Our Streets’ which aims to rid the city’s streets of cigarette litter by distributing portable ashtrays, advertising all over the city, and deploying a social media campaign.

Similar technology was deployed above Bournemouth beach last summer to better understand littering patterns and behaviour.

More than 30 billion cigarettes are sold in the UK each year, and around 70 per cent of cigarettes become litter, according to the United Nations.

With cigarettes taking up to 15 years to degrade, it is a big environmental issue around the world.

The campaign taking place in Bristol has multiple fronts. It started in November when CLUB and Ellipsis Earth used drones, AI and machinelearning to survey the city.

The group will also be deploying bus stop posters across the city, along with 20 pavement stencil installations, located next to drains to highlight this issue, and will be running a social media campaign alongside it.

More than 100,000 ‘Butts Out’ portable ashtrays will be given away to smokers in the city and to people attending concerts, nightclubs and festivals in Bristol.

In addition, comedian and University of Bristol alumnus, Marcus Brigstocke, is fronting a short film to draw attention to the damage caused by cigarette litter. It is planned that the film will be shown to people caught littering in the city.

The messaging that will be used in the campaign was based on interviews with 3,000 smokers in research led by Professor Nick Chater of Warwick Business School.

John Read, founder-director of Clean Up Britain, said: “This is a huge opportunity to reduce cigarette pollution in the city. We know cigarette litter is a massive blight on Britain’s streets. Bristol is no different - people want to see the back of it. To tackle this, we’re bringing the latest tech together with a very clear, very blunt message - Get Your Butt Off Our Streets.

“It’s just a shame Bristol City Council have not embraced the campaign for the benefit of their residents.”

In response to Mr Read, a spokesperson for Bristol City Council said that although they are supportive of the campaign, they cannot be directly involved due to it being funded by Philip Morris Limited, the world’s largest tobacco company, which goes against a policy passed by the full council.

But CLUB said Philip Morris is not involved in the campaign but has provided the funding that is being administered independently by the campaign group.

A spokesperson for Bristol City Council said: “We invest £6 million each year in tackling litter, which includes people dropping cigarette butts. Action against litter includes fining 3,985 people in the last year for littering offences. Our public health team also works hard to support people who want to quit smoking.

“We welcome the efforts of any group that wants to clean up our streets and hope this campaign makes an impact on cigarette litter in Bristol.”

The campaign ends in April.