ATLANTIC SEABOARD | CITY EDITION We distribute 29 246 copies every Tuesday
FOR ALL ADVERTISING... YVETTE SMITH 021 910 6577
Yvette.smith@media24.com X1VR60Q5-QK011019
TUESDAY 1 October 2019 | Tel: 021 910 6500 | Email: post@peoplespost.co.za | Website: www.peoplespost.co.za
@peoplespostnewspaper
@ThePeoplesPost
People’s Post
A display of some of the cigarette butts collected across the city at the launch of the Unsmoke Awareness Campaign on Thursday 26 September.
CBD
Be smart with your butt NOMZAMO YUKU @NomzamoYuku
S
mokers from around Cape Town are urged to play their part in creating a cleaner and healthier environment by safely disposing of their cigarette butts. The plea was made during the launch of the Unsmoke Awareness Campaign held in St George’s Mall in the central business district (CBD) on Thursday 26 September. The campaign is being held in partnership with Philip Morris South Africa (PMSA) – an affiliate of one of the world’s largest tobacco companies, Philip Morris Internation-
al – the City of Cape Town and the Central City Improvement District (CCID). A public display of 80kg of cigarette butts, collected from across the city earlier that day, kicked off the event. The point of the display was to make people realise the problem is real. According to the speakers, most butts are found in public spots – either at the call centres of or entrances to most workplaces. As part of the campaign, more butt bins will be distributed to places identified as hotspots, and portable bags will also be made available for private use. Marcelo Nico, the managing director at
PMSA, says the goal is to encourage a behavioural change. “If you don’t smoke, don’t start. If you are a smoker, quitting is the best choice you can make. If you don’t quit, change to a better alternative. In this way, we can ‘unsmoke’ ourselves, our family, our friends, our city and our world,” says Nico. Xanthea Limberg, Mayco member for water and waste, welcomes the initiative, saying it is going to play a positive role in finding solutions to the littering problem that affects the city at large. She says keeping the city clean is a shared responsibility. “It’s great to see companies taking the
initiative to assist with the challenge of litter in our city. The City is happy to have supported this initiative and encourage others to take similar action,” says Limberg. Tasso Evangelinos, the CCID’s chief executive officer, says it is exciting that companies are joining the fight to keep the CBD and surrounds clean by encouraging smokers to change their behaviour. He says everyone needs to play their part as litter “is an avoidable problem, which costs money to clear”. He says the CCID already has placed 300 cigarette butt bins, which are cleaned monthly, at hotspots around the CBD.