In an effort to eliminate littered cigarette butts from the streets of Boston, Mayor Martin Walsh is launching “Neat Streets” to keep Boston free of litter and to encourage citizens to be environmentally cautious, according to a Wednesday press release. Beginning at the end of February, interactive cigarette butt receptacles will be located along streets with heavy foot traffic.
Walsh said in the release that the program is a creative way to encourage environmentally friendly activity in Boston and to continue to keep the streets clean.
“Boston is a beautiful city, but to keep it that way we must all do our part to keep our streets clean,” Walsh said in the release. “This smart and innovative effort incorporates a public polling process to engage our residents and visitors in protecting our environment.”
The interactive factor comes from special features on the installations, which allow individuals to vote on a question as they dispose of their cigarette butts, the release stated. When someone wants to throw away their cigarette, the new boxes will have questions posted on them with two holes for users to choose from. Whichever hole they choose will be their “vote.” Examples of questions might be, “Best winter gear to have in Boston? Hats or gloves?”
The installations will be modeled after a similar initiative based in London, according to the release. However, the installations are being personalized for Boston by danger!awesome, a makerspace based in Cambridge. Boston residents are encouraged to tweet their own poll question recommendations using the hashtags #NeatStreets or #NeatStreetsBos. Suggestions will be taken through March.
Scott Zoback, a spokesperson from the Massachusetts Department of Public Health, said the DPH would support any program that encourages a safer, cleaner public.
“The Massachusetts Department of Public Health supports any program that will do its part in reducing the number of public smokers and public smoking risk,” Zoback said. “This is an issue we work actively with our partners to reduce, and if the program works to reduce this, it could be valuable for the streets of Boston.”
The press release also detailed some statistics about smoking cigarettes.
“According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, smoking remains the leading cause of preventable death and disease in the United States, killing more than 480,000 Americans each year,” the release stated. “Smoking causes immediate damage, which can lead to long-term health problems.”
While several Boston residents said the Neat Streets program would help to “beautify” Boston’s streets, others said the program would be a waste of municipal funding.
Frank Jones, 67, of Dorchester, said the city should be focused on more important issues than cigarette butts.
“I’m all for making the streets cleaner, but there are more important things going on here,” he said. “It just seems like putting out all of these boxes could cost a lot of money that could be put toward the T or the park or something like that. I think it’s just a waste of revenue.”
Greg Mary, 36, of Downtown Boston, said the program would be a worthwhile investment.
“If it will improve the city, then I don’t see why it wouldn’t be useful,” he said. “Anything that will make Boston cleaner is something worth putting money into.”
Kym Wilkerson, 22, of Dorchester, said removing cigarette butts from the streets would take Boston a step closer to cleanliness.
“The streets are already disgusting, so to get cigarette butts off [of them] would be a great idea,” Wilkerson said. “I think it would be a good thing.”
