In recognition of America Recycles Day, TerraCycle, the world’s leader in the collection and recycling of complex waste streams, has joined forces with local chapters of the non-profit, Keep America Beautiful, the nation’s largest community improvement organization, to collect and recycle the world’s most littered item – cigarette butts. TerraCycle’s Cigarette Waste Free Recycling Program, invites community organizations, nonprofits and local municipalities to place cigarette butt collection receptacles in highly-trafficked areas to collect cigarette waste while beautifying their neighborhoods in the process. The national non-profit, Keep America Beautiful (KAB), offers grants to local KAB chapters, non-affiliate NGOs, municipalities, etc. for the purchasing of these receptacles and gives them the capability to conduct cigarette litter assessments and launch consumer messaging campaigns. As an added bonus, $1.00 is donated towards Keep America Beautiful’s Cigarette Litter Prevention Program for every pound of cigarette waste collected.
Below are highlights from some of the most prolific Keep America Beautiful chapters that are participating in the cigarette recycling program:
- Keep Pennsylvania Beautiful – As part of implementing a statewide litter plan to address micro-litter, Keep Pennsylvania Beautiful partnered with the Pennsylvania Department of Transportation to install cigarette recycling receptacles at the entrances of 14 welcome centers across the state. This is in addition to working with 41 of Pennsylvania’s state parks, translating to an overall 65% combined reduction rate in cigarette litter.
- Keep New Hanover Beautiful – Keep New Hanover Beautiful has launched a comprehensive initiative to recycle cigarette butts, working with businesses, local government, and others alike. Since 2017, they have recycled over 1 million cigarette filters using the recycling services provided by TerraCycle.
- Keep Puako Beautiful – In 2021 Keep Puako Beautiful collected over 7,000 cigarette butts from the beautiful Puako beaches in Hawaii. With personal passion and dedication, the organization has worked with Keep America Beautiful and TerraCycle to divert this waste from both landfills and natural habitats alike.
In addition to collecting cigarette waste through recycling receptacles and cleanup events organized by nonprofit partners, anyone can make an account on TerraCycle.com, sign-up for the Cigarette Waste Free Recycling Program, and download a free shipping label to get started. Participation is easy. Simply collect the cigarette butts in a sealable plastic bag, when full place the bag in any reused cardboard box, download a free shipping label and then ship it to TerraCycle for processing.
When processed, the paper and tobacco collected through TerraCycle’s Cigarette Waste Free Recycling Program are separated from the filter and composted. The filter is recycled into plastic pellets, which manufacturers can use to make several products, such as shipping pallets, ashtrays, and park benches. TerraCycle has collected hundreds of millions of cigarette butts globally. Additionally, its various recycling programs have engaged over 200 million people across 21 countries to collect and recycle more than eight billion pieces of waste that were otherwise non-recyclable.