Gwanak-gu Installs Cigarette Butt Collection Boxes Shaped Like Cigarette Packs to Create Cleaner Streets

41 Cigarette Butt Collection Boxes Shaped Like Cigarette Packs Installed at 3 Locations Including Seoul National University Entrance
Expected to Improve Urban Aesthetics and Prevent Safety Accidents

A cigarette pack-shaped trash bin installed at Exit 2 of Seoul National University Station

Walking down the street, one often frowns at the sight of cigarette butts carelessly discarded. These improperly thrown cigarette butts not only spoil the urban landscape but also pose a fire hazard.

According to the Fire Agency last year, careless behavior accounted for 50.8% of winter fire causes over the past five years, making up more than half. The main causes of carelessness include cigarette butts, sparks or flames, and unattended fire sources.

Recently, Gwanak-gu (District Mayor Park Junhee) installed three new cigarette butt collection bins (▲Seoul National University Station Exit 2 ▲Right side of the parking lot at Sillim Station Time Stream Mall ▲Entrance of the side road at Sillim Station Exit 6) to create a clean living environment for residents and to prevent various safety accidents such as fires. This brings the total number of collection bins installed in the district to 41.

Unlike existing bins, these new cigarette butt collection bins are designed to resemble cigarette packs, enhancing their visual appeal. The unique design aims to attract smokers' attention and prevent them from discarding cigarette butts on the ground.

Additionally, to encourage smokers' will to quit smoking, the bins prominently display ‘Quit Smoking’ messages and the phone number for the Gwanak-gu Public Health Center’s ‘Smoking Cessation Clinic’.

The district expects that the installed cigarette butt collection bins will greatly contribute not only to improving the urban landscape and preventing fire risks but also to preventing rainwater backflow during the rainy season. Numerous cigarette butts clogging the drains are a major cause of rainwater backflow.

Last year, the district, including Mayor Park Junhee, all staff, and about 1,000 residents, carried out extensive maintenance of rainwater drains to prepare for heavy rains, doing their best to ensure smooth drainage functions.

Mayor Park Junhee said, “We ask everyone to actively use the cigarette butt collection bins and join us in creating clean streets,” adding, “Our district will continue to do its best to create a clean and safe living environment.”

Model of the inside of a cigarette butt collection bin

Meanwhile, the district is making various efforts to create a ‘Gwanak without cigarette butts,’ including ▲dedicated mobile closed-circuit TVs (CCTV) for monitoring illegal cigarette butt disposal ▲campaigns for monitoring and promoting proper cigarette butt disposal ▲and ‘Quit Smoking Bells’ using quit smoking announcement devices.

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.