Natalya Shevchuk: Dancer and environmental advocate –
Cigarette Waste Brigade Include Canada (English)
Battleford Town Council is looking at new ways to discourage littering after a presentation by a high school student about how litter harms wildlife.
"Litter is much more than an eyesore. It presents a real threat to wildlife. Litter not only hurts animals, it can kill them," 16-year-old Natalya Shevchuk told councillors recently.
"Some of us treat our world as a huge trash bin," the young advocate told town councillors.
One of the most insidious forms of litter is the thousands of cigarette butts that can be found nearly everywhere, said the North Battleford Comprehensive High School International Baccalaureate student, and she wants to see a cigarette butt-recycling project set up in Battleford, her hometown.
She recommended a program such as one offered by TerraCycle, an international upcycling and recycling company that repurposes difficult-to-recycle products. The company even pays for the cost of shipping cigarette waste to them for recycling, she said.
Councillors expressed an interest and administration will be looking into the program as well as installing signs in public buildings.