Cheeky Cans Reduce Litter by Asking People to Vote With Their Trash

One of the easiest ways to reduce littering is by making throwing something away more fun than tossing it on the ground. Using that logic, Hubbub is seeking to make cigarette butts into a way to vote in lighthearted surveys on the street. 

As part of the UK environmental nonprofit’s Neat Streets campaign, Hubbub is installing whimsical trash receptacles in the London borough of Westminster. Because 89 percent of smokers toss their butts on the street, according to the nonprofit, one receptacle asks these potential litterers to instead use their trash to vote for their favorite sports event or the world’s greatest footballer.

The design is clever because it harnesses people’s passion for sharing their opinions (especially in the case of a topic as decisive and emotional as sports fandom). It may not be the best smoking cessation campaign—a die-hard fan might want to smoke even more to make sure their favorite pulled ahead!—but it does provide an easy incentive to get people to throw out their butts somewhere other than the gutter. 

[h/t: Neatorama]

All images: Hubbub