6 million cigarette ends are dropped in the City of London’s Square Mile every year, costing the council £3.8 million to clean.
So today Keep Britain Tidy have launched a striking awareness campaign with a series of super-sized cigarette butt installations in London.
An accompanying video encourages smokers to dispose of their cigarette ends responsibly – in a bin or ashtray.
Wendy Mead, Chairman of the City Corporation’s Environmental Services Committee, said; “With 400,000 people coming in and out of the Square Mile every day, we need to make sure smokers understand that dropping cigarette butts is not only lazy and unpleasant, it is a criminal offence. Smokers can help the City better spend its resources on green spaces, employment skills and schools by disposing their butts responsibly.”