Tackling littering one butt at a time
In an effort to reduce the amount of litter in the streets, the municipality of Athens adopted the interactive “Gopa project” which urges smokers to vote on a number of topics by throwing their cigarette butts in containers installed around the city.
The “gopa” – Greek for cigarette butt – project, which has been successfully implemented in other big cities, is about filling the gap from the absence of public ashtrays in Athens and creatively mobilizing smokers to reduce cigarette waste in the public space.
Each bright yellow box asks a question and offers two answers. Smokers select by inserting their extinguished cigarette in the clear container below where they can see which answer has the most “votes.”
Questions range from “What's Tarantino's best movie? Reservoir Dogs or Pulp Fiction,” and “What was the best rock concert this summer? Slayer or Cure?” to “Bathing suit: One-piece or bikini?” The question on the box changes every week.
The idea is supported and funded by the This is Athens program, an initiative of the municipality of Athens to promote interventions in the city that improve daily life.
