Vancouver Rolls Out Extraordinary New Program

Recycling Program for Cigarette Butts 

The city of Vancouver, British Columbia, is taking on the single biggest source of street litter in the world. And it’s ready to kick some serious butt.

 

In November, the city became the first in North America to initiate a program to recycle cigarette butts. As part of the campaign, they mounted 110 “Butt Bins” on light poles throughout the city to encourage residents and visitors to toss their cigarette butts in the fireproof containers.

With help from TerraCycle Canada, this unique program — called the Cigarette Waste Brigade Program — will not just keep used butts off the streets, but will keep them out of landfills as well. Smokers are being asked to save their cigarette butts at work and at home, then send them in for processing.

TerraCycle already has consumer-based cigarette-butt recycling programs, but this marks the first time it’s been done at a municipal level. TerraCycle provided underwriting for the Butt Bins, asking the city to pay just C$1 per container — which means the entire recycling program is costing the city of Vancouver a mere C$110.

For more of the article, see http://earth911.com/health/vancouver-cigarette-butts/.