--- title: Receptacles for Cigarette Butts in Boston Let Voters description: Boston is installing receptacles so smokers can vote on issues with their cigarette butts to deter littering of stubs. canonical: https://time.com/4217327/boston-cigarette-butts-receptacles/ author: Olivia B. Waxman article:opinion: false article:content_tier: free article:published_time: 2016-02-11T16:51:25.000Z article:modified_time: 2026-04-13T07:29:57.917Z og:title: Boston Wants You to Vote With Your Cigarette Butts og:description: Boston is installing receptacles so smokers can vote on issues with their cigarette butts to deter littering of stubs. og:url: https://time.com/4217327/boston-cigarette-butts-receptacles/ og:site_name: TIME og:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt0ff926335a7f3bf3/69887d2f428a9ea40acd15a6/cigarettes-neat-streets-boston.jpg?branch=production&width=3840&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 og:image:width: 1200 og:image:height: 675 og:image:alt: cigarettes-neat-streets-boston og:type: article twitter:card: summary_large_image twitter:title: Boston Wants You to Vote With Your Cigarette Butts twitter:description: Boston is installing receptacles so smokers can vote on issues with their cigarette butts to deter littering of stubs. twitter:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt0ff926335a7f3bf3/69887d2f428a9ea40acd15a6/cigarettes-neat-streets-boston.jpg?branch=production&width=3840&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 ---  # Boston Wants You to Vote With Your Cigarette Butts  by [Olivia B. Waxman](https://time.com/author/olivia-b-waxman/)  ## Olivia B. Waxman Staff Writer Feb 11, 2016 4:51 PM UTC  City of Boston  by [Olivia B. Waxman](https://time.com/author/olivia-b-waxman/)  ## Olivia B. Waxman Staff Writer Feb 11, 2016 4:51 PM UTC To snuff out the littering of cigarette butts, the city of Boston will be installing receptacles that look like mini polling stations so smokers can vote based on which slot they use to dispose of their stubs. For example, a question at the top of one box asks “Which Superpower Would You Want?” and has two openings below — one for “Flight” and one for “Invisibility.” Another bin asks, “More essential Boston winter gear?” — “Hats” or “Boots.” This [“interactive public space installation](http://www.cityofboston.gov/news/Default.aspx?id=20511)” is said to cost [close to $3,000](http://www.bostonherald.com/news/local%5Fpolitics/2016/02/marty%5Fwalsh%5Fchallenges%5Fboston%5Fs%5Fsmokers%5Fto%5Fbe%5Fneat%5Fand%5Fvote%5Fwith%5Ftheir) and is called “Neat Streets,” just like [a similar initiative](https://ballotbin.co.uk/) across the pond. Last year, Hububb, an environmental group known for stunts, installed [“voting ashtrays”](https://www.hubbub.org.uk/voting-ashtray) outside the Embankment Tube stop in London. Smokers were prompted to choose their favorite football player — between Cristiano Ronaldo and Lionel Messi — and which sporting event they’d rather watch — between the “Italian Grand Prix” and the “Tennis U.S. Open.” In Boston, the bins should be all set up by the end of February in areas with heavy foot traffic. City officials are also encouraging residents to suggest questions that they’d like to see on the receptacles via the Twitter hashtags #NeatStreets or#NeatStreetsBos. ```json [{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"NewsArticle","@id":"https://time.com/4217327/boston-cigarette-butts-receptacles/","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://time.com/4217327/boston-cigarette-butts-receptacles/"},"headline":"Boston Wants You to Vote With Your Cigarette Butts","datePublished":"2016-02-11T16:51:25.000Z","dateModified":"2026-04-13T07:29:57.917Z","description":"New receptacles poll smokers on pressing issues","url":"https://time.com/4217327/boston-cigarette-butts-receptacles/","keywords":["Newsfeed","U.S."],"thumbnailUrl":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt0ff926335a7f3bf3/69887d2f428a9ea40acd15a6/cigarettes-neat-streets-boston.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","author":[{"@type":"Person","name":"Olivia B. 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