In phase 2 of Project Ashtray a microscopic change occurred in the world. The tenants of 3 sets of flats started not dumping their cigarette butts on the pavement. Weighed against the impact of forest fires in Australia, the CO2 emissions of the fashion industry, or the plastic destroying the oceans, the change means nothing.
And yet, in the microcosm that is my street, it’sf huge. It’s a massive % reduction in total direct pollution for the street. It’s an indication of intent from those tenants – given the option, they’ll happily make a better choice, as long as it costs nothing. It’s proof that I can make real change. A tiny nudge turned into real change for two handfuls of people – a major adjustment that turned an environmentally damaging habit into a habit that’s merely personally damaging. And most importantly, this tiny change shows that a much larger change is possible. This approach, scaled, might well close-to-completely eliminate cigarette butt litter on the streets of my city.
And so a small change, completely insignificant in the grand scheme of things, is not so small. It’s proof that change can happen, and it’s a step in the right direction.
We can only take one step at a time, so trying to line them up in the right direction is worth striving for.