PROVINCETOWN — Cigarette butts will soon be transformed into pallets, railroad ties or industrial grade mulch now that the board of selectmen has accepted grant money that will allow the town's recycling and renewable energy committee to purchase Sidewalk Buttlers that will be placed in high traffic areas throughout town. In a letter presented to the selectmen on Monday, the recycling committee said that the self-contained receptacles would "reduce or eliminate the substantial presence of cigarette butt litter along the sidewalks and streets and [will] prevent cigarette butts from entering Provincetown Harbor." The Sidewalk Buttler is a rectangular shoulder-height receptacle topped by a hole in which smokers can deposit their butts. In their letter to the selectmen, committee members wrote that the Buttlers are easy to mount and detach for cleaning and can be placed on town-owned property such as signs, poles and fences. Each one holds approximately 700 butts and is weatherproof, fireproof and rustproof. Dept. of public works staff will install the receptacles at parking lots, beach access points and municipal restrooms. Each unit costs $100. The selectmen unanimously (minus Erik Yingling, who wasn't present) approved the committee's request to accept grants from CARE Cape & Islands for $1,485 and a pending grant from Keep America Beautiful for $2,500, which will fund the purchase and installation of the Sidewalk Buttlers. "Cigarette butts annually feature on the Center for Coastal Studies top 10 list of debris collected during beach cleanups at Long Point and Herring Cove," said committee member Laura Ludwig in an email addressed to Jill Taladay from CARE Cape & Islands on Jan. 5. "They do not biodegrade and they are difficult to recycle unless collected in a clean manner and in large volume. They have been implicated in the death or injury of marine animals and birds and they are a blight on the natural environment." Ludwig also said, after speaking with Town Hall custodians, that the current receptacles in place are not sufficient. "Streets, sidewalks and storm drains are littered on a daily basis with tossed butts," she said. "The Town Hall custodian reports that she weekly picks up thousands of butts off a small town lawn during the summer, a problem exacerbated by leaf blowers, street sweeper trucks and pedestrian smokers." The receptacles will be purchased through the Sidewalk Buttler Company based in Portland, Maine. Each receptacle contains a radio frequency chip that allows the town to verify the date and time of collections and keep track of the total number of butts in each unit through an Android mobile application, which allows collectors to measure the effectiveness of each unit. "In Portland, the Sidewalk Buttler Company collected, tracked and recycled more than 1 million cigarette butts in 2016 alone," company founder and director Michael Roylos said in materials that were included in the selectmen's packet. Discarded butts would be collected and emptied by volunteers and shipped to a New Jersey-based company called Terra Cycle, where they will be made into pallets, railroad ties or industrial grade mulch. The United Parcel Service will ship them from Provincetown to New Jersey for free. The committee hopes to organize a "butt brigade" of volunteers to empty receptacles when necessary, working with other town committees and organizations. Prior to the purchase and installation of the receptacles, the recycling and renewable energy committee will hold a public hearing so that residents will have a chance to learn more about the Buttlers and the collection and recycling process. The date of the hearing has not yet been announced.