Ashtrays

Outdoor ash bins and cigarette extinguishers

A cigarette butt does not break down in a few weeks but over years, and a single butt pollutes a considerable volume of water. Even so, the vast majority end up on the ground, not out of ill will but because there is nothing at the spot where people smoke in which to stub out the butt and leave it behind.

We supply and install outdoor ash bins, cigarette extinguishers and cigarette columns for local authorities, companies, schools, hospitals, the hospitality sector and stations.

Where they belong

The location matters more than the model. An ash bin only works at the point where somebody finishes their cigarette: at the entrance to a building, at a smoking area, at a bus stop, at the exit of a bar, on a platform.

An ash bin ten metres from the door does not get used. Anybody who has finished smoking wants to get inside, and will not walk back. So count on several small extinguishers at the right points rather than one large column in a symbolic spot.

Think about smoke-free zones as well. In school environments and on care campuses smoking on the grounds is generally no longer allowed. There you put the facility just outside the boundary, because otherwise the problem simply moves to the neighbours footpath.

Versions

Wall-mounted ash bin

Compact, fixed to the facade next to a door. The most common form at company entrances and hospitality venues. Choose a version with a lockable collection tray and an extinguishing top surface.

Cigarette column

Free-standing, with a larger capacity, suitable for smoking areas and busier locations. Usually anchored down.

Combined with a litter bin

An ash bin on top of or on the side of a litter bin. Space-saving, but take care: no glowing butt should be able to fall into the residual waste. Choose a version with a separate metal butt chamber.

Voting ash bins

A column with two compartments and a question above it, where the smoker votes with their butt. Surprisingly effective at reducing butts on the ground, because disposal gains a playful element. Interesting at festivals, stations and schools.

Pocket ash trays

Small portable ash trays to hand out at events and in nature reserves, where there is no fixed facility.

What matters in the design

• Extinguishing. The butt has to be extinguished before it drops into the collection tray. A ribbed metal top surface or a narrow slot with a metal chamber does that.
• Oxygen-poor collection. A closed chamber smothers a smouldering butt. An open tray does not.
• Rain. An open ash bin fills with water and you end up with a container of butt slurry that empties badly and smells. Choose a hooded opening.
• Emptying. A removable inner container with a handle saves the maintenance crew work every time. Ask how it is opened and whether the same key fits your other street furniture.
• Material. Stainless steel, or hot-dip galvanised and powder-coated steel. Plastic is not a good choice here, because fire goes into it.

Maintenance

Butt bins need attention more often than their contents suggest, because a full ash bin is ignored immediately and then everything ends up beside it again. Include them in the normal emptying round and rinse them out periodically. Stainless steel stays presentable longest.

What determines the price?

Ash bins have no fixed price per unit. The cost follows from the type, whether wall-mounted, column, combined or voting bin, the material and the finish, the capacity of the collection tray, the locking and emptying system, bespoke work such as a colour from your house style or a logo, the number of units, and the fixing or anchoring.

Send us the quantity and the locations, and you will get a quotation in which those items are set out separately.

Asking for advice

Tell us where the butts are lying today. That is usually exactly the place where a facility belongs, and we will propose the right version to go there.