Keep the town tidy and cast your vote on Albion's season

A novel way to encourage smokers to dispose of their cigarette ends properly is being trialled in Worthing town centre.
W33C ballot bin

Councillor Diane Guest with the ballot bin in Chapel Road, Worthing.

A ballot bin has been fixed to a post at the taxi rank in Chapel Road and invites smokers to vote on a simple question by putting their cigarette ends in one of two slots.W33C ballot bin

Councillor Diane Guest with the ballot bin in Chapel Road, Worthing.

A ballot bin has been fixed to a post at the taxi rank in Chapel Road and invites smokers to vote on a simple question by putting their cigarette ends in one of two slots.
W33C ballot bin Councillor Diane Guest with the ballot bin in Chapel Road, Worthing. A ballot bin has been fixed to a post at the taxi rank in Chapel Road and invites smokers to vote on a simple question by putting their cigarette ends in one of two slots.

A ‘ballot bin’ has been fixed to a post at the taxi rank in Chapel Road and invites smokers to vote on a simple question by putting their cigarette ends in one of two slots. The first question being asked is whether Brighton and Hove Albion will survive their first season in the Premier League.

The ballot bin initiative by Adur and Worthing Councils comes 10 years after smoking was banned in enclosed public places in England, such as pubs, restaurants and offices.

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Discarded cigarette ends have become a scourge of the streets as people have to venture outdoors to light up.

In Worthing town centre, for example, street cleaners were typically picking up between 60 to 100 cigarette ends each day in one short stretch between Montague Place and South Street.

Other hotspots include level crossings, where cars can stand stationary for long periods, outside pubs and cafés, by benches in parks and town centres.

Councillor Diane Guest, Worthing’s executive member for environment, said: “This is a fun way of getting across a serious point. Cigarette ends are the most littered items and blight our town centres.”

Ballot bin questions will be changed on a regular basis and the bin may be moved to different locations.