Locally-Designed Cigarette Litter Receptacles Debut in Downtown Athens

April 10, 2008 by Natalie White

A collaboration between local government and local artists produces unique, useful urban objects.

On April 10, a series of 34 Cigarette Litter Receptacles (CLRs) locally designed by Athens Design Development (ADD) will be installed on parking meters and light poles in a pilot area of downtown Athens. The CLRs, pronounced “clears,” are meant to provide a means for cigarette smokers to dispose of their used cigarettes in an eye-catching receptacle that is urban smart and unique to Athens.

The pilot area includes the South side of West Washington Street from Pulaski Street to College Avenue, both sides of North Lumpkin Street from Washington Street to Broad Street, and the South side of East Clayton Street from Lumpkin Street to College Avenue.

The CLRs are being implemented by a group headed by the Athens-Clarke County Solid Waste Department?s Keep Athens-Clarke County Beautiful program. The group also includes the Athens-Clarke County Stormwater Management Program, the Athens-Clarke County Public Information Office, the Athens Downtown Development Authority, and the Athens Tobacco Prevention Coalition.

The group began meeting in 2006 to look into ways to address the potential increase of outdoor cigarette litter in downtown Athens resulting from the indoor smoking ban adopted in 2005. After researching available commercial cigarette litter disposal options, the group opted to collaborate with Athens-based ADD to produce a series of prototype receptacles that were evaluated and tested to produce a CLR model that was attractive and met its design criteria. The CLRs not only needed to be eye catching, but also easy for staff to empty while being reasonably tamper proof. The design also needed to keep water and trash from accumulating inside.

Funding for the initial group of CLRs comes from a grant from the Cigarette Litter Prevention Program of Keep America Beautiful and funds provided by the Athens Tobacco Prevention Coalition. A cigarette litter count was conducted to help determine the several adjacent blocks used for the pilot project. Receptacle locations were then selected based in part on the areas with the highest concentration of discarded cigarettes. After the CLRs are installed, a follow-up scan will be conducted to evaluate their effectiveness. The initial installation will provide information for potential expansion of the program in the future to other areas downtown and throughout Athens-Clarke County. As part of GreenFest, images, prototypes, cigarette litter studies, and documents from the CLR design process will be on display in the Lyndon House Arts Center at 293 Hoyt Street until June 7 during normal operating hours.

ADD formed with the mission of enriching Athens, the Northeast Georgia and national community through good design, resource information, and project implementations and production. The six members of ADD include sculptor and furniture designer Didi Dunphy of Modern Convenience, pattern designer Lou Kregel, photographer and graphic designer Michael Lachowski of Candy, photographer and building designer Carl Martin of DOC Unlimited, painter and building designer Carol John of DOC Unlimited, and product designer and UGA professor of digital media Michael Oliveri. ADD recently designed the Blazberry Hwy. sculpture/bus shelter on the Atlanta Highway for the “You, Me and the Bus” competition sponsored by the Athens Area Arts Council and the Athens Transit System. For more information on ADD, visit www.ADD411.org or call 706-255-3224.