Beauty helps 'Bin that Butt'
Artist Selwyn Vercoe is happy his designs are used to help people respect their environment.
Auckland Council, Keep Auckland Beautiful and local Auckland artists are helping smokers bin their butts at four key hotspots in Auckland’s CBD.
With cigarette butts topping the list of almost every litter count anywhere in Auckland, new approaches are being tested to learn what could help change this.
Working closely with local business owners and local artists, Auckland Council’s pilot project 'Bin that Butt' focuses on using creativity to foster positive behaviour change.
Megan Beard, Senior Community Advisor, Waste Solutions is encouraged by the early results.
“So far, we’ve seen success and lots of positive engagement at Scratch Bakery on Graham Street and Vulcan Lane locations in the CBD. At both locations, we’ve seen that using creativity to engage and raise awareness of the correct behaviour is a strong motivator.”
Elaborate carpet design makes smokers think twice
A beautiful outdoor chalk carpet is the idea behind 'Beauty Beneath Us' at Scratch Bakery on Graham Street, where smokers think twice before flicking their cigarette butts on it. You wouldn’t drop a butt on someone’s living room floor, so would beautifying the ground outside make the act of littering seem unnatural?
Jonny McKessar, owner of Scratch Bakery on Graham Street, is delighted with the results.
“Selwyn Vercoe’s chalk carpet looked amazing. We’ve seen a significant reduction in cigarette butts and in the last few days and we haven't swept once. It’s worked so well we want to do it again in the summer.”
Central Auckland artist Selwyn Vercoe first discovered art four years ago while in rehab and now his work pops up all over Auckland. He’s currently curating ‘The People of Karangahape Road’ for Auckland Art Week in October.
“The design I chose for the Scratch Bakery location is 'Te Taiao O Papatuanuku', to respect iwi protocols and to correlate with different cultures, especially Persian. I’m happy my designs are used to help people respect their environment.”
About 'Bin that Butt'
“Bin that Butt’ is a pilot project aimed at testing the different ways that creativity and local Auckland artists work can engage and educate people about where their cigarette butts should go.
The project focuses on working with local business owners and their customers to learn what drives behaviour in Auckland, which will help tailor anti-littering interventions and improve their impact. Final results are due early September.