Responding to calls for cigarette receptacles in Vancouver's public spaces, Vancouver council has passed a broad motion to investigate ways to reduce litter in the city.
Charles Gauthier, executive director of the Downtown Vancouver Business Improvement Association (DVBIA), said the motion addresses his concerns, but urged the city not to lose sight of the cigarette butt issue.
"Maybe they need to do what we did [in a pilot project], which is look at the worst [litter] situation," he said. "In this case, we'd argue that it's cigarette butts."
The DVBIA was one of three local groups, including the West End Business Improvement Association and West End Cleanup, that spoke out against the problem of cigarette butt litter at council's May 29 meeting.
Coun. Adriane Carr put forward the original motion calling for city staff to investigate ways to reduce cigarette butt litter, including providing cigarette butt receptacles in public areas where smoking is allowed.
In his presentation, Gauthier told council about running a pilot project a couple years ago that placed cigarette butt receptacles on Granville Street for the three blocks south of Robson Street. He said the receptacles, combined with an education program, produced positive results – until they were all stolen.
Gaultier said he hopes council won't lose its momentum on the issue of cigarette butt litter because of the broader motion, which resulted from a Coun. Andrea Reimer amendment.
"It's good to take a step back and do a bit of an analysis and do your homework, but I would hate for this thing to drag on for more than a year because we're studying it to death," Gauthier said.
He noted that the city is quick to move on subjects it holds dear.
"If it's food trucks and bike lanes, it seems like we're ready to move forward with it to pilot it. The same approach can be done here: let's buy a few [receptacles], let's install them, let's see how impactful they are. The DVBIA has had some experience, but let's try something a little bit different, and we can measure the results."
Gauthier said cleanliness is a downtown business priority. He said it's a factor in drawing customers to the downtown core.
"For a BIA, we spend a lot of our time trying to compete with other places in Metro Vancouver in terms of attracting those discretionary dollars here," he said. "We can't take it for granted that people will come here because we're great or because we have a lot of offerings. We have to pay attention to the details." •
