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.