Tom Szaky is the Founder and CEO of TerraCycle, a worldwide leader in the collection and repurposing of hard-to-recycle post-consumer waste, from used chip bags to used cigarette butts. The waste is collected via various methods from free, national, brand funded platforms, called Brigades, to various consumer and government funded models. The collected waste is then repurposed via recycling, upcycling and/or reuse into sustainable, affordable consumer products, industrial applications and building materials.

Skyers’ team worked this year with Colgate and recycling company TerraCycle Inc. on a contest promoted in ShopRite stores giving schools a chance to win a playground made of recycled oral care materials. More than 100 schools participated, earning credits by sending in used oral care products. The winning school, BelovED Community Charter School in Jersey City, N.J., received its new playground in ­November.

The Barnetts and their 25 employees are inviting their guests to be part of the eco-friendly process. Dunkin’ Brands has partnered with TerraCycle to help recycle some of the brand's packaging. There is a program under development where guests at the Edgewater restaurant can return their empty one-pound coffee bags in exchange for a discount off their purchase of a new bag. Going forward, the program may be expanded to include other brand packaging.

We’ve been trying to get around this economic impasse for years at TerraCycle. When your business model is dependent on new and innovative recycling systems for previously non-recyclable waste streams, you start to notice what gets people excited to start collecting. If you make it easy to do and show that they can benefit their community in the process, many consumers will opt to recycle.

Institute a Program for Upcycling Cigarette Butts.  These Cities are Trading in Cigarette Butts for Cash. Have your community collect and store the cigarette butts separately and upcycle them by mailing them to Terracycle.  Find out more about Terracycle's program. (You'll have to enter your birthdate to prove you're over 18 to enter the Cigarette Waste Brigade.)

At the national level, organizations like TerraCycle, Inc., make new recyclable products from things that don’t start out that way, providing free collection programs for such hard-to-recycle materials. Spatz shared this information with the small St. Anthony community. Though its two weekend liturgies draw at most 200 people, the parish has a long history of addressing social justice issues, she said, including the environment.

In some areas, cigarette litter recycling can actually be profitable for cities. As reported previously by GovExec State & Local, companies such as New Jersey-based TerraCycle are paying cities like Salem, Massachusetts, for their recycled butts. In order to track litter-reduction efforts, CLPP closely monitors programs in newly launched areas.