Put Waste in the Right Place

Cigarette litter prevention tips

• Never flick cigarette butts on the ground or out of your vehicle window while driving.
• Look for ashtrays on the top of the City of Hamilton’s garbage receptacles on sidewalks and other outdoor areas.
• Carry a pocket ashtray to safely extinguish and store cigarette butts if there are no ashtrays nearby.
• Cigarette butts can be recycled! Consider if TerraCycle’s Cigarette Waste Recycling program is right for you.

Use a pocket ashtray to reduce litter

Pocket ashtrays are handy tools to help avoid flicking a cigarette butt on the ground. To use a pocket ashtray, simply slide open the pocket ashtray, put your extinguished cigarette inside, then close the pocket ashtray tightly. Empty the pocket ashtray into the garbage when it is full.

Pick up a free pocket ashtray at any of these locations:

• Tourism Hamilton Visitor Centre - for info and hours: www.tourismhamilton.com/visitor-information
• All Hamilton Public Library branch locations. Find locations and hours.
• Municipal Service Centres (City Hall, Ancaster, Dundas, Glanbrook, Stoney Creek, Flamborough)

Sidewalk Ashtrays

Ashtrays are available in public space where smoking is permitted. Look for pole mounted ashtrays on Barton St E (within Barton Village BIA area) at these locations:

• 
  Barton Street East at Sherman Avenue North (south west corner)
• Barton Street East at Earl Street (north west corner near the bus stop)
• Barton Street East at Wentworth Street North (north east corner)
• Barton Street East at Cheever Street (north east corner)
• Barton Street East at Emerald Street North (north east corner)
• Barton Street East between Victoria Avenue North and Wellington Avenue North

The City of Hamilton also provides ashtrays on top of many sidewalk waste receptacles. The waste receptacles are placed throughout the city in busy areas. Look for the pink sticker on top of the receptacle to find the ashtray.

Community Responsibilities

• Only smoke in areas where smoking is permitted under the Smoke Free Ontario Act and the City of Hamilton’s bylaws regulating smoking in public places and workplaces and smoking in City parks and recreation areas.
• Always place cigarette butts in an ashtray or garbage receptacle once they are extinguished.
• Business owners may provide ashtrays outside their building and remind customers and employees to use the ashtray.
• Clean the sidewalk in front of your business or home regularly to prevent cigarette butts from piling up. 

City Responsibilities

• Provide ashtrays and garbage receptacles in public areas where smoking is permitted.
• Clean and maintain City-owned ashtrays and garbage receptacles on a regular basis.
• Provide resources and training for volunteer groups who want to help clean up cigarette butts and other litter items in parks, roads etc. such as the Team Up to Clean Up program.
• Increase awareness and engage residents and businesses through public education and outreach programs.
• Investigate complaints related to smoking in City parks, recreation areas and other areas where smoking is prohibited under the Smoke Free Ontario Act. Learn more about smoke and vape free areas.
• Hamilton Public Health Services offers programs to help people quit smoking. To learn about the different programs that are available, please visit www.hamilton.ca/tobacco. 

Hamilton is an environmentally conscious community:

• Hamilton residents use their recycling blue boxes and green carts.  This has helped extend the life of our only landfill.  We're still working towards our goal of 65% diversion from landfill.

Hamilton is a community with great civic pride:

• We appreciate our unique geological features including the Niagara escarpment, Lake Ontario, Hamilton Harbour, Cootes Paradise and our 125 waterfalls. 
• We enjoy more than 522 parks, 68 kilometres of City-owned trails and 3,100 acres of open space.
• We respect these natural and manmade environments and want to keep them clean and green.

Hamilton spends a lot on keeping sidewalks, roadways and parks clean:

• We spend about $1.8 million a year to contain and prevent litter on public property.  Imagine what those tax dollars could be invested in if we all put waste in the right place.

Hamilton is home to environmentally aware businesses: 

• Many Hamilton businesses recycle, compost, reduce litter and help the environment. 

Diverting waste

• Recycling or composting materials when and where possible to divert waste away from our landfill
• Disposing of household hazardous waste materials like batteries in a proper battery recycling container or by taking them to one of the City’s Community Recycling Centres
• Participating in one of the City’s Volunteer Cleanup Programs: Team Up to Clean Up or Adopt-a-Park

Reducing waste

• Giving old products new life instead of throwing them away. For example, using old containers for storage.
• Donating, selling or giving away gently used household items and clothing

Preventing waste and litter

• Stopping waste before its created by choosing to buy goods with less packaging
• Stacking a heavier blue box on top of a lighter blue box to prevent escaped litter on windy days
• Standing paper and cardboard up-and-down instead of laying them flat in a blue box so they don’t blow away
• Disposing of disposable gloves and face masks in the garbage and not on the ground or in blue boxes
• Discarding cigarette litter into the proper receptacles