Smoking Litter campaign: Keep Britain Tidy

Cigarette butts are the UK’s most common form of litter, making up 66% of all items dropped, with only one in eight disposed of properly. They can take up to 14 years to break down, leaching toxins that harm wildlife and pollute our surroundings.

At festivals, cigarette litter is a particular problem and the only type that can’t be effectively cleared from grass, leaving behind thousands of tiny, damaging butts that spoil the environment and the overall festival experience.

‘Stamping Out Cigarette Litter’ was a multi-year campaign delivered in partnership with Keep Britain Tidy. The campaign was multi-faceted, consisting of a national TV, digital media and posters campaign (featuring ‘duck’ messaging to remind festivalgoers about the importance of proper cigarette disposal). It also saw the positioning of visually appealing smoking bins strategically positioned around festival sites and thousands of eco-friendly, reusable Butt Boxes distributed to smokers free of charge.

The 2025 campaign in Wales took place at three Welsh festivals:

Pride Cardiff
Green Man
Elvis Festival in Porthcawl

Keep Wales Tidy staff and volunteers were kitted out in campaign ‘Duck’ T-shirts and were at the festivals to chat with festival goers about responsible cigarette disposal, give out free butt boxes and conduct behavioural observations of smokers.

Cigarette butts are one of the most persistent and damaging forms of litter, and festivals can leave a lasting impact on our green spaces. Through our ‘Stamping Out Cigarette Litter’ campaign, we’ve shown that with the right messaging, practical tools like Butt Boxes, and positive conversations on the ground, we can help people change their behaviour and protect Wales’ environment for everyone to enjoy.
Louise Tambini Deputy Chief Executive, Keep Wales Tidy

Was the project worthwhile?

The campaign was considered to be highly effective. Key successes included:

It raised awareness of the issue of smoking litter and the harm that butts have on wildlife.
It helped to change smokers’ behaviour, with many smokers still using the duck butt boxes they were issued in 2024 and over 80% of people surveyed in 2025 said they would continue to use their butt box in future.
Encouragingly, 67% of smokers in Pride and 75% in Green Man were observed correctly disposing of their butts in a smoking bin, normal bin or pocket ashtray.
The campaign was very well received by the attendees and organisers at all three festivals, helping to raise Keep Wales Tidy’s profile to new audiences and providing the opportunity to discuss smoking litter, as well as our other initiatives, with attendees.
This campaign also enabled us to provide new volunteering opportunities, such as offering free festival tickets in return for a few hours of ashtray distribution, which was a great way to meet new volunteers and thank them for their support.