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What's your idea for reducing cigarette butt litter?
Challenge Type: business
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$800
top 8
196
submissions
DONE
57 months ago

You must be at least 19 years old to participate in this challenge.  We are also ONLY interested in responses from people who currently smoke cigarettes.

Cigarettes are the most littered item worldwide and make up more than one third of all collected litter annually.  Discarded cigarette butts are more than just an eyesore - they have a significant impact on our environment!  They release toxic chemicals into the environment with the potential to poison animals and contaminate water.  Moreover, most cigarette butts contain non-biodegradable plastic fibers that take years to decompose.  Given the gravity of the problem, what should be done to reduce cigarette butt littering for our environment?

Deliverables

This challenge is exclusively for cigarette smokers who are 19+ years old.

We are interested in creative ideas for reducing cigarette butt litter in order to protect our environment. Specifically, answer the following:

  1. Most people know that littering is wrong, and yet many smokers (reportedly 75%) have littered their cigarette butts. Why do you believe cigarette butt litter is such a pervasive problem?  (Is it a lack of knowledge on the environmental impact?  Lack of convenient places to dispose of cigarette butts?  Something else?)  
  2. What is your creative idea that will reduce cigarette butt litter? Your idea could be something preventative (ex: a marketing / awareness campaign, new disposal device, etc.) or something to eliminate / reduce already-discarded cigarette butts.  Be sure to tell us in detail:
    1. How your idea would work to prevent / eliminate cigarette butt waste
    2. Why you believe your idea would be effective 
    3. What would be required to implement it
    Submissions will be graded on the following criteria:
  • Rating
Reward Tiers
8 Winners
will receive $100 each
Leaderboard
$100.00 Matthew Gaiser Queen's University
$100.00 Rishav Bose Christ University
$100.00 m .
$100.00 Mirko Tadic Belgrade University
$100.00 Kaelan Lupton Queen's University
$100.00 Benjamin Branch University of Central Florida
$100.00 Dan Biddle Zhejiang University
$100.00 Pavel Marmanov www.coursera.org
Submission questions


(Required)
I confirm that I am at least 19 years old​
(Required)
I confirm that I am currently a cigarette smoker.

What is your age?

(Required)
19 - 22
23 - 26
27 - 30
30+

What is your gender?

(Required)
female
male
prefer not to say

What is your country of residence?

(Required)
US
Canada
other

If you selected other above, what is your country of residence?

How would you describe your cigarette smoking behavior?

(Required)
I smoke frequently (most days or weekly)
I smoke occasionally (no more than a few times a month)

Have you ever littered / discarded a cigarette butt?  

(Required)
yes
no

Briefly explain why or why not (ex: If you have littered a cigarette butt, then why did you throw it on the ground vs. in a proper receptacle?) 

(Required)

If you answered "yes" that you have littered at least one cigarette butt, then answer the following: Is there anything that might have prevented you from doing so?  Is there something you could have known or seen that would have made you think twice?

0 characters Average: 1690 characters
Your solution must be at least 200 characters long
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