A subsidiary of one of the nation's largest cigarette makers is teaming up with a New Jersey company to reward do-gooders for cleaning up cigarette litter. Santa Fe Natural Tobacco Co. is funding a national recycling program through TerraCycle Inc. called the Cigarette Waste Brigade. The maker of Natural American Spirit cigarettes is owned by Winston-Salem, N.C.-based Reynolds American Inc. After sending in the collected cigarettes butts, people over the age of 18 will get credits that can be donated to various charitable causes. TerraCycle will then recycle the filters into plastic pellets used to make shipping pallets, railroad ties and park benches. A 2009 Keep America Beautiful study found that cigarette waste accounted for 38 percent of all U.S. roadway litter. - Associated Press Cigarette filters (and other related tobacco waste) are the number-one item recovered during the annual Ocean Conservancy’s International Coastal Cleanup Day, with more than 52 million cigarette filters collected from beaches in the past 25 years. They’re a source of litter in a variety of public outdoor spaces, including sidewalks, roadways, parks, shopping malls and office buildings. In 2009, a Keep America Beautiful study found that cigarette waste accounted for 38% of all U.S. roadway litter. Contrary to popular belief, cigarette butts are not biodegradable and do not break down quickly. The cigarette waste collection program will make this pervasive waste recyclable for the first time.