Town smokers urged to 'Vote with your butt'

The first cheque has been awarded to the most popular charity as voted by smokers of Hinckley

Local charity Hinckley Homeless Group is the first charity to benefit from £100 donation thanks to the Borough Council's innovative ballot bins for cigarette butts.

Four ballot bins places around Hinckley town centre ask smokers to choose their favourite charity by voting with their cigarette butt. The bin has a window allowing everyone to see which charity has the most 'votes'.

Each bin is located in a hot spot where discarded cigarette butts are a particular problem. Currently the bins are in Market Place, Station Road, Lower Bond Street and Bridge Road. 

Cigarette butt litter has become a big headache in the town in recent years and it costs taxpayers money to clean up. It is hoped the ballot bins will encourage smokers to dispose of their butts in the bins instead of on the ground. Once dropped, a cigarette lasts up to 12 years in the environment polluting the ground it lands on and getting washed into our drains and waterways. 

In other areas of the country, the ballot bins, which are designed to encourage smokers to think about how they dispose of their litter, have reduced cigarette butt litter by 46% and the council is hoping for similar results in Hinckley. 

Louise Adams from Hinckley Homeless Group said:

We are very happy to have been chosen by the mayor to have been represented in the ballot bins, and are delighted to be the first winners. The smoking bins help to promote good citizenship and community responsibility. Thanks to all who chose to do something good with their cigarette.

Every three months, two local charities as chosen by the Mayor will battle it out to be awarded £100, which comes from the proceeds of litter fines.  Currently smokers can choose between St Mary's Church band and Time for Carers.