The City of Calgary is trying to the rid the streets of cigarette litter and hold smokers personally responsible.

The city said on Tuesday it has created the campaign — called "This is not an ashtray" — in order to encourage smokers to take responsibility of their cigarette butts.

One way the city is doing this is through ads that feature images of Calgary landmarks with cigarette butts. The ads will be displayed on billboards and ad trucks and appear on social media with the hashtag #buttfreeyyc.

"With this campaign, we are really focusing on using some innovative techniques to connect with citizens," said Barb Doyscher, business strategist with Calgary Community Standards. "We want to educate them about some of the impacts that litter has such as environmental impacts."

She says that in addition to ads, peace officers and local bars will hand out reusable pocket ashtrays featuring a message: "No ifs, ands or butts — don't risk the environment or fines up to $750." The city says this gives smokers the option to extinguish and hold on to the cigarette butt until it can be put in a trash can.

"We estimate that Calgary smokers dispose of hundreds of thousands of butts every year throughout our city, creating widespread impacts," said Doyscher.

The city is handing out these reusable ashtrays as part of a campaign to stop cigarette litter. (CBC)

Education first, fines second

Doyscher says the city acted on this issue because of citizen complaints. She says the litter damages Calgary's reputation and has environmental impacts since the plastic filters never fully disintegrate.

"Throwing a cigarette butt on the ground is no more acceptable than it would be to throw a pop can on the ground," she said.

The city says littering, including cigarette butts, is prohibited under both the Streets Bylaw and the Parks and Pathways Bylaw, and fines range from $250 to $750. However, Doyscher doesn't think fining civilians is a strong tool.

"It is difficult to give out fines because it is difficult to catch people in the act of littering," she said. "So we really want to focus on educating people on the impacts and encouraging them to be responsible and cleaning up the litter they create."

Damian Cole, bylaw superintendent for Calgary Community Standards, agrees with this and says officers are always educating before fining.

"We will be doing education for at least the first week and then we will be issuing those fines to try and stop people throwing the cigarette butts on the floor," he said.