The key to addressing the reduction of butt littering is behavioural change.
Butt Free Australia is targeting the attitudes and perceptions underlying the undesirable behaviour: butt littering.
Through education and awareness programs, we aim to bring about changes that will lead to the desirable behaviour: responsible butt disposal becoming the norm.
International social marketing studies have shown that a number of vital elements must be working together to successfully achieve behavioural change.
Butt Free Australia's Butt FREE Solutions provide effective tools for addressing five of the most important of these elements in relation to our objectives:
Context
Littering behaviour and how to manage it differs according to where and in what 'context' it is happening. Some messages or infrastructure will be more suitable than others, depending on the context.
Awareness
Prominent and consistent messaging creates greater public awareness of the consequences of butt littering and increases the perceived importance of addressing these issues.
Education
Face-to-face education improves awareness of the environmental, social and economic impacts of butt littering in a positive way, without being confrontational. Engagement through education also provides the opportunity to ask for a commitment or pledge to PLEASE BUTT IT, THEN BIN IT®.
Infrastructure
Infrastructure such as butt bins and personal ashtrays foster desirable behaviour by providing smokers with convenient and easy ways to appropriately dispose of their butts.
Enforcement
Enforcement is never popular, but remains a necessary element of behavioural change in deterring those who do not otherwise respond to friendly messages.
While these five elements are all effective in isolation, they become far more powerful when combined to create a comprehensive approach to behavioural change.
If you're interested in implementing a behavioural change program to reduce butt littering, the Butt FREE Toolkit offers everything you need to get started.
Addressing Butt Littering