Here’s a butt, there’s a butt, everywhere there’s cigarette butts. It’s not just the unsightly mess of seeing the tiny, white and orange nubs thrown carelessly about that has firefighters’ fuming, it’s also their dangerous ability to smoulder that has sparked outrage. Last year, 27% of Barrie fires were caused by smoking and cigarette-lighting materials, said Barrie fire prevention and safety officer, Samantha Hoffmann.

Kevin and Dina speak with Jessica Panetta from TerraCycle, an initiative that helps recycle almost anything such as cigarette butts. Interview begins at 2:48.

I was watching BTV or Breakfast Television Toronto, like I do every morning Monday to Friday starting at 6 AM until 9 AM., I pretty much catch the entire show minus a half hour, as they start at 5:30 AM. I love the entire show as it gives me everything from news, entertainment, food and health, there’s never a shortage of things to watch on BTV every day!

The Surfrider Pacific Rim Foundation’s ‘Hold On To Your Butts’ campaign has galloped out of the gate with smoking success. The foundation recently completed its first collection of cigarette butts from the 54 butt-collecting canisters it helped install throughout the West Coast and collected a whopping 17,000 of them.

KAMLOOPS - Business owners and patrons of downtown Kamloops have had cleaner sidewalks over the past month thanks to a new program that recycles cigarette butts. Downtown Customer Care and Patrol team member Nathan Bymoen says they, along with support from City Hall, have partnered with a company called TerraCycle out of Vancouver to collect cigarette butts from newly installed recycling boxes in exchange for cash that goes back to the city for sustainability initiatives. "The way it works is for every three pounds of cigarette butts we recycle we get one dollar back," he says. "So it's not like we are just collecting the cigarettes and then throwing them out. We collect them, we ship them back with free shipping to TerraCycle, and they recycle them 100 per cent."

More workshops, art installations, food vendors and new sustainability efforts are in the works for both campers and day-trippers to this year’s River & Sky music and camping festival, which takes place July 20-23 at Fishers' Paradise near Field. The festival, set on the Sturgeon River, is known for featuring some 40 emerging Canadian bands over its four days, including this year’s headliners Wintersleep, Timber Timbre, PUP and Weaves. But River &Sky also works on ways to present sustainable arts, and to feature art installations by visual artists and the creations of local crafters, as well as run workshops appealing to a wide variety of ages and interests. "This year, not only do we have an amazing line-up of musicians but we also have an amazing line-up of workshops that are River & Sky inspired,” Melanie Alkins, a vendor, crafter and workshop lead for the festival, said. This year the festival has more than 20 sessions on 14 topics. They are all free for attendees. Fan favourites, such as puppetry with Kimberley Howe, morning yoga with Liz O’Hara and a movement workshop with Shannon Falconi of North Bay’s Global Groove, are returning. New skills-based workshops include fixing your bike with Stefan Poliquan of North Bay’s The Wheelhouse; canoe trip tips and tarp-tying with Carissa Bender and Meghan Walsh; how to string your guitar and proper intonation with Marc-André Dubosq; and taking a herbal walk with Miranda Martel to learn about edible plants.

Expanded list of workshops, art installations and more for 2017 festival More workshops, art installations, food vendors, and new sustainability efforts are in the works for both campers and day-trippers at this year’s River & Sky Music/Camping Festival, July 20 - 23. The festival, set on the Sturgeon River at Fishers’ Paradise in the community of Field, is known for featuring some 40 emerging Canadian bands over its four days, including this year’s headliners Wintersleep, Timber Timbre, PUP and Weaves.

Mississauga’s famous RBC twin towers in the Meadowvale area have diverted more than 1.5 million cigarette butts in the past three years to save the environment. Triovest, a commercial real estate management and advisory company that manages the RBC buildings located at 6880 Financial Dr. in Mississauga, runs one-of-a-kind recycling program under which it recycles cigarette waste. Every day, the cleaning staff at the site collects cigarette butts from dozens of ashtrays around the building and instead of dumping them into the garbage, stores them in a fire-rated container. Once a reasonable quantity is collected, it is shipped to the U.S. for recycling. “Recycling is the right thing to do and we do the same as most companies do on other sites in terms of recycling batteries, electronic waste, paper products, general waste and mixed waste,” said Lello Gugliucciello, general manager of Triovest. “But then we were looking for something different.”

Mississauga’s famous RBC twin towers in the Meadowvale area have diverted more than 1.5 million cigarette butts in the past three years to save the environment. Triovest, a commercial real estate management and advisory company that manages the RBC buildings located at 6880 Financial Dr. in Mississauga, runs one-of-a-kind recycling program under which it recycles cigarette waste. Every day, the cleaning staff at the site collects cigarette butts from dozens of ashtrays around the building and instead of dumping them into the garbage, stores them in a fire-rated container. Once a reasonable quantity is collected, it is shipped to the U.S. for recycling. “Recycling is the right thing to do and we do the same as most companies do on other sites in terms of recycling batteries, electronic waste, paper products, general waste and mixed waste,” said Lello Gugliucciello, general manager of Triovest. “But then we were looking for something different.”