The Westwood Village Improvement Association, also known as the BID, installed long gray TerraCycle receptacles on street poles earlier this month. The program cost the BID about $1,000, but the recycling company TerraCycle will send the BID money or furniture if officials collect a certain amount of cigarette butts, said Andrew Thomas, executive director of the BID. Workers will empty the receptacles every Monday and ship the waste to TerraCycle, where they will turn the waste into plastic products or furniture, said Michael Gonzalez, ambassador operations manager of the BID.

If they are put into our SSR bins, they will compromise the quality of other plastics recycled with them. Other tidbits of information about waste/recycling can be found in “Make Garbage Great” by Tom Szaky and Albe Zakes.

Farmington residents Danielle and Randy Hall started collecting trash about two years ago and cashing it in through TerraCycle to help the Farmington Pet Adoption Center, their favorite charity. It requires a collective effort to accumulate enough trash for a sizable donation so they’ve turned to social media to spread the news, recruit volunteers and collect a lot of trash. The Halls collect accepted waste and ship it to TerraCycle to earn points, which are then redeemed for cash and donated to FPAC.