Steve Patterson and the city of Athens is in the process of installing 52 cigarette butt bins through out the city in an effort to not only cut back on cigarette litter but to further beautify Athens.
A fair warning to smokers in Athens — to avoid paying a possible $50 fine, put cigarette butts in the brightly colored bins attached to the light posts on Court Street.
Last summer, the city of Athens launched a project to fight against tobacco-related litter Uptown by installing 22 cigarette butt bins with 30 more on the way.
Athens City Councilman Steve Patterson, D-At Large, led the way for the project after he heard about InnovaGreen Systems, a business based in Groveport.
The company has a patented process for recycling cigarette butts into plastic, Patterson said.
After becoming aware of the company, Patterson looked for other cities that would be participating in the initiative.
"Back in 2012, Vancouver, (British Columbia) launched their own cigarette-butt bin campaign, putting out 100 bins,” Patterson said. "And it made me realize that Athens could definitely benefit from a project like that."
Once it was decided that the city was going to pursue the project, it then wondered where the money was going to come from.
Ultimately, the cigarette receptacles were paid for by two separate grants, a $3,500 grant from the Athens Foundation and a $5,000 grant from the non-profit organization Keep America Beautiful.
In addition to the strategic placement of the bins in front of bars, restaurants and stores along Court Street, the city is hoping the bright colors and bold designs can catch the eye of pedestrians passing by, Patterson said.
Passion Works Studio, 20 E. State St., was approached by Patterson a few months ago with the idea to paint somewhere between 50 and 80 cigarette bins, and the idea was met with immediate enthusiasm and excitement, Mallory Valentour, a staff artist and retail representative at Passion Works, said.
When he brought them in we realized that there were a lot of cigarette boxes, but we have done them 10 at a time and it's looking good, Valentour said.
Passion Works is an art studio whose mission is to provide a creative and inclusive atmosphere in which artists with and without disabilities thrive, according to its website.
"The design for each bin was left completely up to each artist individually,” Valentour said. "I think all of them came out really nice."
As for the impact the design and bright colors have had on people walking in the street, Valentour believes the boxes stand out and grab individuals' attention more so than a regular, plain box.
"They have become works of art. People will not only use them, but also admire them for the art," Valentour said. "I have really noticed a difference in the amount of litter that is on the ground, so it must be working pretty well."
The new addition of the bins has without a doubt caught the eyes of local smokers, Stephanie Reed, an employee at The Over Hang and The Other Place, said.
"I love them. I always go out of my (way) to put my cigarettes in there,” Reed said.
The biggest difference has been by the bars, with people watching others put used cigarette butts in the bins and others following their lead, Reed said.
However, not everyone has noticed a drastic difference in the streetscape.
“I haven’t seen any change,” Eric Moss, owner of The Over Hang, said as he swept in front of his business collecting numerous cigarette butts. “I collect at least $3,000 worth of fines in cigarette butts every day.”
Nevertheless, the effort of the city and desire to clean up the streets of Athens has not gone unnoticed, Moss said.
“It’s a nice attempt, but it's not working right now,” Moss said. “But who knows, maybe the idea could catch on. It's definitely possible.”
"The newly installed cigarette-butt bins are just that — new — and it is going to take some time to see the major improvement that some in the city are hoping for," Patterson said.
This is just one more piece of the puzzle to further beautifying our community, Patterson said. We want to make a good and lasting impression. We want to do something that is bettering Athens as a whole.
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