Outdoor Ashtrays

Outdoor ashtrays are bulk containers for the disposal of cigarette ashes and butts. They are frequently used in commercial environments or workplaces, where they are deliberately situated in locations where multiple smokers (such as employees on lunch break) tend to congregate. Outdoor ashtrays help to beautify these locations and can prevent accidental fires. Similarly, in a home with many smokers or one which tends to host large gatherings which may attract such smokers, an outdoor ashtray can greatly assist in maintaining the environs of a yard or garden.

Styles of Outdoor Ashtrays

Outdoor ashtrays can vary widely in style and sizes. Often they resemble the typical waste bins commonly found in public locations. Others are simply a standard bowl-like ashtray built into a fixture. Many are narrow tube like structures, a design which serves not to call attention to itself in an era of increasing public distaste for smoking. Still others are mounted directly onto walls. Often, outdoor ashtrays taper down to a wider bottom or possess a large receptacle at the base which actually holds the cigarette butts. Each ashtray can commonly hold several thousand butts before needing to be emptied.

Features of Outdoor Ashtrays

Outdoor ashtrays are commonly made of a plastic such as polyethelene and are frequently lined with a flame-retardant steel interior to instantly snuff out fires and prevent their spread; this liner also helps to make emptying the ashtray a simple process. Very often ashtrays are filled with urn sand (consisting mostly of black silica) to help promote the butts' extinguishment. If carefully cleaned, this sand can be reused when the ashtray is emptied.

The plastic exterior of an outdoors ashtray helps to prevent rusting and can also serve to keep moisture from wearing away the insides. Most outdoor ashtrays have a narrow opening to dampen odors emitting from the interior, and some such openings are approximately cigarette-sized to prevent the accrual of other waste. Ashtrays in commercial settings are commonly equipped with locks to prevent vandalism.

Designs of Outdoor Ashtrays

Sometimes, outdoor ashtrays are found in unusual or artistic designs, which can help to mitigate their bland functionality and the widespread perception of their uncleanliness. Some are shaped like buildings or plants (cacti and palm trees are popular designs), while others are crafted in pleasing modernistic shapes. Occasionally ashtrays are given a veneer of class by being made to resemble something austere, such as a Greek column, old-fashioned lamp post, or ancient obelisk.

By Matthew Ingalls