"Gopa project" expands to Athenian neighborhoods
Τhe city cleanliness and recycling rates improvement are the main goals of the Municipality of Athens in the context of everyday urban culture. Towards this direction, an -already- successful and original project is evolving in the city.
In quite central and popular spots of the city, 20 new large urban ashtrays-ballot boxes were placed, in collaboration with the environmental program "Gopa project", with the support of the Athens Destination and Development Management Agency (ADDMA).
It is a project that, in addition to cleanliness, aims to contribute to the protection of the environment, as it is estimated that through its activity more than 250,000 cigarette butts will be recycled per year.
The new "yellow boxes" added to the five existing ones (they were placed through a pilot application in Syntagma, Gazi, Ermou and Monastiraki) aim to reduce cigarette waste in the public space through the participation of smokers in an alternative "voting" system.
The questions posed in each “ballot box” revolve around the city itself, sports, music, literature, cinema, television. They also have social or environmental content, and often they are inspired by current news.
"Did you know that cigarette butts thrown in the city end up in the sea? No VS Now you know!",
Best "Ronaldo": Cristiano VS Phenomenon, are some of the questions that passengers are asked to answer with their vote.
The goal of the project is to motivate passers-by to stop and use the yellow boxes, throwing in their cigarette butts. Through the pilot project, a total of 30,000 cigarette butts have been collected so far, while more than 5,000 have already been sent out for recycling. The 25 urban ashtrays will be available to Athens’ citizens and visitors in the areas of: Syntagma, Gazi, Metaxourgio, Monastiraki, Plaka, Thissio, Psyrri, Omonia, Petralona, Koukaki, Ermou, Varvakeio, Kolonaki, Zappeio, Kolokotroni, Dionysiou Areopagitou, Panepistimion.
