Bin Your Butt, Weymouth! Harbour Litter Crackdown Begins

A new anti-litter campaign has launched around Weymouth Harbour, with local businesses teaming up with Litter Free Dorset to help tackle one of the area’s most persistent pollution problems — cigarette butt litter.

As part of a new trial, wall-mounted cigarette butt bins have been installed at The Ship Inn, The King’s Arms, and The Old Rooms Inn, giving smokers a simple and visible way to dispose of their cigarette waste responsibly.

Meanwhile, The Anchor (Rendezvous) is hosting an eye-catching interactive Ballot Bin, designed to encourage smokers to “vote with their butts” rather than dropping them on the ground. The Ballot Bin asks a question with two answer slots, turning cigarette disposal into a fun and competitive activity as the butts build up behind the display windows.

Businesses involved in the trial have also been given stubby packs to hand out to customers. These small, heatproof pouches are designed for smokers to carry with them, making it easier to store used cigarette ends while out and about before emptying them into a bin later.

The campaign comes after a pre-trial litter audit on a 200-metre stretch of Custom House Quay revealed the scale of the problem. Litter Free Dorset found more than 600 cigarette butts discarded on the ground, along with over 300 trapped inside highway drains.

Although cigarette butts may appear small, they pose a major environmental threat. They contain plastic and gradually break down into microplastics, which can remain in the environment indefinitely. They also release toxic chemicals that can pollute waterways and threaten local wildlife.

The harbour trial is part of Litter Free Dorset’s #MyWeymouth project, which is testing a range of ways to reduce litter in hotspot areas across the town.

Victor Szkolski, owner of The King’s Arms, said:“We’re delighted to be a part of the #MyWeymouth project and to give our customers a convenient way to dispose of their cigarette waste responsibly, playing our part in protecting the natural beauty of Weymouth Harbour.”

Litter Free Dorset will monitor the success of the initiative by carrying out follow-up litter audits to compare levels of cigarette waste before and after the trial. The team will also weigh the contents collected in each bin and gather feedback from the participating businesses to assess how effective the scheme has been.

Litter Free Dorset is a hosted partnership at Dorset Council. The organisation aims to create better local environments for everyone in Dorset, exploring and realising the social, economic and environmental benefits of reducing the impacts of litter and pollution in the county’s towns, beaches and open spaces.

If the results are positive, the bins could become a permanent feature around Weymouth Harbour.

The project follows a recent community survey completed by more than 200 Weymouth residents, alongside a focus group that gathered local views and ideas on reducing litter. Workshops have also been held with eco groups from Wey Valley Academy and Budmouth Academy, helping ensure that young people’s voices are included in shaping solutions.

Joanna Dant, Project Officer for Litter Free Dorset, said:“We’re excited to be carrying out these litter intervention trials in Weymouth which will help us identify the most effective behaviour change techniques and will guide the rollout of a wider range of evidence-based litter reduction measures across Dorset.”

For more information on the project, visit Litter Free Dorset’s #MyWeymouth page.

 This news story has been produced by Chesil Radio's News Team, for more information please visit: https://www.chesilradio.com