In our country alone, 8,000 tonnes of cigarette butts are littered every single year.   Cigarette butt waste continues to be a problem in Canada. SUPPLIED

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Look down at the ground the next time you’re outside, whether on a city street or at a park or beach: chances are you’ll notice a few cigarette butts around. They’re the world’s most littered item. In Canada alone, 8,000 tonnes of cigarette butts are littered every single year — most of them found within three metres of a garbage can. Cigarette butts are not biodegradable. Many people may not realize that they contain filters made out of cellulose acetate, which can take up to 15 years to decompose. Left on the ground, butts can end up in our waterways, so much so that in 10 years there might be more cigarette butts in the ocean than fish. Unsmoke Canada is aiming to turn things around. It has two nationwide initiatives underway to help rid the outdoors of cigarette butts and eliminate litter: one an innovative, leading-edge recycling program; the other, a grassroots, hands-on effort. The shared goal is to make Canadians aware of cigarette waste and reduce its impact in Canada. “We have a vision to ‘Unsmoke Canada’ by 2035,” says Vasie Papadopoulos, communications and sustainability manager for Unsmoke Canada. “Our vision is a smoke-free Canada, meaning one without cigarettes. A pillar of this vision is sustainability — to reduce the effect that cigarette litter has on people, communities and the environment.” Unsmoke Canada and TerraCycle are teaming up for the Unsmoke Cigarette Recycling Program. The multi-year, community-based program aims to divert hundreds of thousands of butts each month from the ground and landfills, preventing environmental harm and eliminating litter. TerraCycle has already proven its effectiveness when it comes to recycling cigarette butts that would otherwise end up incinerated or in landfills. Since 2012, the international recycling company has collected more than 155 million cigarette butts, distributed more than 1,550 cigarette butt recycling receptacles in 10 provinces and established more than 5,000 collection points across Canada. Unsmoke Canada will expand on TerraCycle’s efforts. For the Unsmoke Cigarette Recycling Program, cigarette butt receptacles will be set up across Canada in places where the littering of butts is common, including shorelines. All of the waste collected will be shipped to TerraCycle for recycling.   Since 2012, TerraCycle has collected more than 155 million cigarette butts. SUPPLIED When processed, the paper and tobacco are separated from the filter and composted. The filter is then recycled into plastic pellets, which can be turned into new products. Manufacturers can create things like shipping pallets and park benches. Community organizations, associations and businesses can join the Unsmoke Cigarette Recycling Program by signing up on the TerraCycle program page here. For every pound of cigarette waste the program collects, Unsmoke Canada will donate $1 to the community group’s non-profit or charity of choice. The effort to clean up the outdoors and protect the environment doesn’t end there. Unsmoke Canada has announced the second annual Unsmoke Canada Cleanups, a grant-giving program established through a partnership with The Great Outdoors Fund. The goal is to help make it possible for everyone to work together to keep the country’s precious outdoors clean and pristine. Last year, the program provided $50,000 in funding to 17 groups for litter-cleanup projects across the country, from Penticton to Newfoundland. “People were able to collect over 1 million pounds of litter, with 427,000 hours of volunteer time dedicated to the cleanups,” Papadopoulos says. While the pandemic introduces new challenges, there are all sorts of safe ways to participate in cleanups, as last year’s program proved. Measures such as physical distancing and the use of masks, gloves and hand sanitizer enable volunteers to take part in a collective effort to beautify their natural surroundings and protect the planet from the effects of cigarette butts. “We know that cigarette butts continue to be a problem in Canada, and that litter in general is an issue of concern in both urban and rural areas,” Papadopoulos says. “These programs are things we can do on a national scale and at a grassroots, local level to combat litter and have a real, tangible impact. “Unsmoke Canada is committed to a smoke-free future and waste-free future,” Papadopoulos says. “That means getting Canadians to butt out entirely and cleaning up cigarette litter.” For more information on the Unsmoke Cigarette Recycling Program with TerraCycle, visit terracycle.com/en-CA/brigades/cigarette-waste-en-ca. To apply for an Unsmoke Canada Cleanups grant, visit thegreatoutdoorsfund.submittable.com/submit.