New bins posing interesting questions to Shrewsbury smokers
New bins will be posing some interesting questions for smokers in Shrewsbury - as well as helping to keep the streets cigarette butt-free.
The three ballot bins will be placed at different locations in the town centre and each will carry questions with two answers.
The smoker will drop their cigarette butt in the slot under their preferred answer and the glass panelled front will allow people to keep track of the most popular one.
Questions will be changed periodically and people are being encouraged to submit their own questions for inclusion on each bin.
The bins, which are being funded jointly by the Tidy Shrewsbury Group and Shrewsbury BID, are made by Hubbub and are proven to reduce cigarette butt litter by 46 per cent.
Seb Slater, Shrewsbury BID executive director, said: "Anything which helps to keep our streets clean and tidy has to be a good idea and ballot bins are a particularly engaging way to combat cigarette litter.
"The bins have a question plate and answers. The smoker deposits the cigarette butt into the preferred answer slot and the glass panel makes it easy to see which answer is favoured the most as the number of discarded butts build up.
Innovative
"They have been devised by Hubbub, a group formed six years ago, who design innovative projects to help reduce litter in town centres.
"We have purchased three bins with the help of the Tidy Shrewsbury Group who had some money available after the group was formally disbanded."
The first two will be installed on Pride Hill and Butcher Row.
It is hoped that the third will be installed in the alley which links The Square and Shoplatch, down the side of the Hole in the Wall pub.
The first question posed by the bins is the often-asked conundrum of whether it’s 'Shroosbury' or 'Shrowsbury'.
Sheila Edwards, of the Tidy Shrewsbury Group, said: “We are happy to contribute to the cost of the ballot bins.
“They have proved to be very successful in other areas of the country and we are sure they will be very popular here, providing some interest for passers-by as well as helping to keep our streets tidy by encouraging smokers to use the bins.”
Questions can be submitted by tweeting @shrewsburyBID or emailing info@shrewsburybid.co.uk
