Like all efforts to change individual behavior, education and awareness are bedrock tools. Lasting program impact requires a commitment to ongoing public education and to aappropriate and sufficient ash receptacles that help individuals not litter cigarette butts.

Keep at it. Once your program is underway, keep it going. Meet regularly with the program task force. Establish long-term support for maintaining ash receptacles. Make cigarette butt litter prevention part of continuing community improvement efforts.

Sustain education initiatives. Create a long-term community education and outreach program around cigarette butt litter prevention. Consider a biannual or quarterly cigarette butt litter count, initiate a regular education push, or work with the media to keep the issue on the front burner.

Conduct a “sustainability survey.” Measure the cumulative impact of the program with a sustainability survey. This documents reductions in cigarette butt litter over time following program implementation. This data validate the long-term value of strategically-placed ash receptacles, public education, and other strategies for reducing cigarette butt litter—and all litter.

Grow the program. Enlarge the reach of the existing program. Or, expand to add other locations or venues where cigarette butt litter is contributing to community blight and there is support from stakeholders. Go back to any original list of prioritized locations and move to the next one. Check out areas prone to cigarette butt litter.

Share your success. Tell us about your program.