Have you seen the big yellow ashtrays in the streets of Athens? The pilot program “Gopa Project” has been operating for about a month, with the primary aim of “training” Athenian smokers in a better attitude towards the public spaces and reduce litter in the city.
The yellow ashtrays have been installed in main parts of the city and invite smokers in a playful way to put their cigarette butts – gopa in Greek – into them instead of throwing them on the streets and sidewalks.
To make the project more attractive, smokers are invited to give answers to dilemmas like whether summer sandals should be worn with or without socks and whether the holidays are better than relationships or with friends or which is the best concert of this summer. The questions on the ashtrays change every week.
Smokers can also see which answer has got the most votes.
The idea has been implemented by a team supported by the This Is Athens – Polis program, an initiative of the Athens municipality.
PS Why do many smokers throw their cigarette butts on the street? Because there are no ashtrays. Before start training one should also offer possibilities
Generally speaking: What’s the use of training to avoid litter when they are not enough garbage and trash boxes or these are constantly overfilled?
If the pilot Gopa program remains a pilot for a specific time and no permanent ashtrays are installed in the city, I predict that the trained smokers will be forced to hide their cig butts in this purses or pockets….
BTW I find the collected butts in the yellow ashtrays totally unaesthetic.
Gopa is also the name of a small fish. So don;t throw fish on the butt collectors