Recycling Butts? Yes You Can! TerraCycle, working with the Santa Fe Natural Tobacco Company, turns cigarette waste into industrial products such as plastic pallets. They accept butts, filters, loose tobacco pouches, outer plastic packaging, inner foil packaging, rolling paper and ash.

To tackle this litter problem locally, Nashville’s Bridgestone Arena, home to the National Hockey League’s Predators, has teamed up with the Nashville Clean Water Project and upcycling companyTerraCycle to collect and recycle cigarette butts discarded at the sports and concert venue. The arena is one of the first venues in North America to launch a recycling program for this traditionally difficult-to-recycle material.

If you are not familiar with TerraCycle, it is a company that focuses on creating systems that will upcycle items that are considered to be hard to recycle (such as cigarette butts). With the hopes of being able to keep cigarette butts off of the sides of highways and out of landfills, TerraCycle has recently partnered up with Santa Fe Natural Tobacco Co. in the hopes of being able to create some viable alternatives for cigarette waste.

Sustainable Concepts Green Team worked with Terracycle, a New Jersey company that collects hard-to-recycle trash and “upcycles” it into new products. Terracycle had found a way to turn tobacco waste into plastic pallets and ashtrays but didn’t know where to get its supply.

There's no such thing as garbage at this company, which aims to revolutionize the recycling industry. New Jersey-based TerraCycle's mission is to “eliminate the idea of waste” and it's been a profitable enterprise. The company expects about $20 million in revenue this year, according to founder Tom Szaky.

But Northern Safety and Industrial is doing their part to keep cigarette waste out of the local landfill and off Utica's streets by sending it to recycling pioneer TerraCycle. Since they started in February, Northern Safety and Industrial employees have collected about 24,854 butts from cigarette receptacles in their smoking areas.

What you can do with cigarette butts Maybe you smoke or maybe you don’t; perhaps you know someone who does. Naturally, quitting would be the best thing any smoker can do, but one of the next best things is to recycle your butts.  Yes, cigarette butts can be useful and can be recycled, according to Tom Szaky, CEO and founder of TerraCycle, Inc., a company that has developed solutions for difficult-to-recycle items, including cigarette butts. TerraCycle has teamed up with Santa Fe Natural Tobacco, which sponsors the Cigarette Waste Brigade®. In a New York Times article from April 2012, Szaky explained that the ash, paper, and tobacco are separated from the filters and the organic materials are composted. The remaining cellulose acetate is sanitized and molded via injection into plastics that are used to make plastic pallets and beams. Albe Zakes, VP of Media Relations for TerraCycle, said in a phone interview that efforts to recycle cigarette butts extend beyond US shores. TerraCycle currently also partners with Imperial Tobacco in Canada and soon will have a program in Europe a well. Individuals and groups who are interested in helping clean up the environment of unhealthy cigarette butts and getting them recycled can sign up for TerraCycle’s Cigarette Waste Brigade (or check out other waste brigades). It costs nothing to sign up and nothing to ship the butts, and you could help make a difference in the health of the planet.

It’s common knowledge that smoking cigarettes is the leading cause of lung cancer, that secondhand smoke is a health hazard, and that cigarette use is linked to dozens of other diseases and illnesses. But there is at least one good thing about cigarette butts: they can be recycled into useful products. Don’t cigarette butts disintegrate? Although any cigarette paper and tobacco that are tossed away break down, the butts themselves are not biodegradable, and they stick around for a long time. That’s because 95 percent of cigarette filters are made of cellulose acetate, a type of plastic, made into super thin fibers to create a filter. Yes, cigarette butts can be useful and can be recycled, according to Tom Szaky, CEO and founder of TerraCycle, Inc., a company that has developed solutions for difficult-to-recycle items, including cigarette butts. TerraCycle has teamed up with Santa Fe Natural Tobacco, which sponsors the Cigarette Waste Brigade®. In a New York Times article from April 2012, Szaky explained that the ash, paper, and tobacco are separated from the filters and the organic materials are composted. The remaining cellulose acetate is sanitized and molded via injection into plastics that are used to make plastic pallets and beams.

Let me tell you though, this idea has some legs to it. A company by the name of TerraCycle out of New Jersey has teamed up with Santa Fe Natural Tobacco Company to launch the first U.S cigarette waste recycling program. To become a member of the “Cigarette Waste Brigade”, simply go to TerraCycle’s website to sign up. Once a member you become an official “Butt Picker.”

Recycling pioneer TerraCycle invited City College to take part in “the world’s first recycling program for cigarette waste,” but according to City College Vice President of Administrative Services Bob Martinelli, campus participation isn’t feasible at this time.