In recent years, the issue of marine debris has gained significant worldwide attention and legislative, educational, and management strategies have been developed to address impacts from certain types of marine debris: plastic bag bans, microbead bans, and cigarette abatement programs.  However, in San Francisco, cigarette butts are such a pervasive debris type that Surfrider volunteers pick up an average of 6,500 butts at every two-hour cleanup event. Butts make their way into storm drains and from there into the bay. Cigarette filters are made out of a plastic-like material; the cellulose acetate fibers behave just like plastics in the marine environment. Even if they do break into smaller pieces, they persist as microplastic debris. 

We worked with Surfrider San Francisco in their efforts to change butt-discarding behavior. The project took a two-pronged approach of 1) increased disposal options for cigarette butts and 2) targeted behavior change among smokers. We conducted extensive audience research on different segments of the target populations to determine barriers to behavior change and design interventions and messaging that would resonate with each segment. The subsequent campaign installed 175 designed cigarette butt receptacles in butt debris hotspots, distributed 13,000 designed pocket ashtrays, and engaged an estimated 30,000 people through community-based and social media campaigns.