Some call it a filthy habit, and that's hard to argue against when your vice burns to ashes and butts. Lung dart. Coffin nail. Cancer stick. Smokers are accustomed to such clucking. So what's another dead cigarette on the street? A sweeping crew will carry it to the grave. Or not. In Oklahoma City, cigarette butts sprinkle the downtown landscape — brushed into the gutters by the wind, tossed onto a sidewalk or discreetly dropped in an alley. But there aren't as many as there used to be. Since August, more than 15,000 butts have been collected at 23 aluminum and fire-resistant cigarette waste recycling stations installed on downtown light poles. The project grew out of a partnership between the city's Office of Sustainability, and nonprofits DowntownOKC Inc. and OKC Beautiful. OKC Beautiful was among the 42 organizations receiving part of $240,000 in grant funding last year from the national Keep America Beautiful for its Cigarette Litter Prevention Program. DowntownOKC installed and maintains the receptacles, which are located throughout the Central Business District. Jerry Church, operations manager for DowntownOKC, said 40 receptacles were bought and the vision is to expand the program every other year. The aim isn't to create smoking areas and enable the habit, but to reduce litter. “People are going to smoke,” Church said. “From a city beautification perspective, if I can keep the cigarette butts out of the streets, out of the gutters, out of the stormwater drains, that's what matters.” One idea was to place the receptacles at places where smokers are likely to congregate. That meant three receptacles outside the county courthouse. Small crews empty the receptacles about once a month. Some receptacles get so full, they can cause a mild panic. A receptacle at Park Avenue near the Oklahoma Tower is one example. “If we don't stay on top of that one, someone will call and say it's smoking,” said Addison Ball, operations coordinator for DowntownOKC. On a recent Thursday morning, Ball and Church emptied the receptacles. Near Robinson and Sheridan avenues, Church braced an orange 5-gallon bucket under cigarette receptacles as Ball jammed a blue plastic tool up through the bottom to loosen wads of 100s, shorts, lights and menthols. The spit and lipstick-drenched cigarettes spilled out in abundance. “The regular smokers are using them on a regular basis,” Church said. They ship the cigarettes and packaging free-of-charge to New Jersey-based TerraCycle. The company sorts out the cigarettes by composition and melts them into hard plastic that can be remolded into industrial products. The ash and tobacco are separated and composted, according to TerraCycle's website. T.O. Bowman, the city's sustainability manager, estimates the receptacles have reduced cigarette litter by about 55 percent. The result is cleaner storm drains, improved safety for animals that may ingest the cigarette butts and streets that look a little more spiffy. “We wanted a clean downtown for visitors and users of the space,” Bowman said. “It really made a huge difference.”

There are so many causes in the world today that are pulling at our purse strings and our heartstrings. Two causes I can get behind are helping schools and conservationism. If you agree, then you will love what I am sharing with you today. TerraCycle® and Entenmann’s® Little Bites® are partnering in an exciting program that will help schools and the environment. TerraCycle®, is a recycling company that turns waste into plastic that can be used for many products including park benches, recycling bins, and even playgrounds. Through this free recycling program, you can collect waste, like Entenmann’s® Little Bites® pouches, and ship them to TerraCycle® for processing using a pre-paid shipping label. From January through March 31 2017, TerraCycle® and Entenmann’s® Little Bites® will reward you for taking the pledge. By collecting Entenmann’s® Little Bites® pouches on behalf of a K-12 school, you could be placed in the running to win a classroom party for your child. All you have to do is make the pledge, send in the waste, and earn more rewards. This program is open to any individual, school or organization that is interested in reducing local landfill waste.

In August 2016, the Oklahoma City Office of Sustainability, OKC Beautiful and Downtown OKC, Inc. teamed up to install 23 aluminum, fire-resistant cigarette recycling stations in Downtown Oklahoma. And since then, more than 15,000 cigarette butts have been collected. The collected cigarettes are sent to N.J.-based TerraCycle, which composts the ash and tobacco and turns the remaining waste into hard plastic that can be remolded into industrial products.

The cigarette disposal bins that turn heads in downtown Salem have won an innovation award. SALEM, MA – They make bar goers do a double take, and keep Salem streets a little cleaner. The city's Park Your Butts program, which aims to increase cigarette recycling, was relaunched in July 2016 with new artwork and its new slogan. The relaunch was awarded a Massachusetts Municipal Association Innovation Award in February,according to The Beacon. Dominick Pangallo, Salem's chief of staff, said the new bins were also relocated to places that might draw more use – and its been working. The MMA article noted that the new bins are roughly half-full when they're collected each week. The bins were originally put out in 2015, and fixed roughly a year later to improve use. The MMA said for every pound of cigarette waste in the bins, Terra Cycle donates $1 to Salem Main Streets.

Since becoming a parent there are two things that have changed. #1 – I am up really early. #2 – I have taken global issues way more serious. I am leaving this earth for my kids and their kids. I want my littles to understand that the Earth is here for us, and we need to be here for it. Which is why recycling has become so important to not only me but the rest of the world – Including Entenmann’s. I am so happy to announce that Entenmann’s has partnered with TerraCycle to help us all recycle those Little Bites Pouches and turn them into  park benches, recycling bins, and playgrounds. Through the free recycling program, you can collect waste, like Entenmann’s® Little Bites® pouches, and ship to TerraCycle® for processing using a pre-paid shipping label. TerraCycle and Entenmann’s also want to help the school of your choice win a classroom party. I know my kids have snack time every day and their teachers often need snacks for the kids. So why not Entenmann’s Little Bites as a snack to get the ball rolling on winning that class party, all the while helping the environment by recycling? From January through March 31^st 2017, TerraCycle® and Entenmann’s® Little Bites® want to reward you for making eco-friendly habits by making the pledge. And if you collect Entenmann’s® Little Bites® pouches on behalf of a K-12 school, you could be placed in the running to win a Classroom Party. It’s easy to participate: make the pledge, send in the waste, and earn more rewards. The Entenmann‘s Little Bites ® Pouch Recycling Program is open to any individual, school or organization interested in reducing local landfill waste. To learn more about the Entenmann‘s Little Bites ® Pouch Recycling Program here: http://www.terracycle.com/en-US/contests/little-bites-pledge

Want a delicious on-the-go treat that your kids will absolutely love? Entenmann’s® Little Bites® muffins are baked soft and moist and then packed in easy to grab on-the-go pouches so they can be enjoyed just about anywhere. They are made with real ingredients, and never contain any high fructose corn syrup, which means parents love them as much as kids do. In fact, more than 10 billion Entenmann’s Little Bites snacks have been enjoyed since they were introduced in 1999. That’s a whole lot of happy kids.   As cool as it is to have a treat that all kids can agree on and can be shared amongst them, I’m most excited about their TerraCycle partnership that allows me to recycle the bags they come in for free and do our part to reduce waste. If you aren’t familiar, TerraCycle® is an international recycling company that turns waste into plastic that can be used for products such as park benches, recycling bins and playgrounds. Through the free recycling program, you can collect waste, like Entenmann’s® Little Bites® pouches, and ship to TerraCycle for processing using a pre-paid shipping label. Making The Pledge with Entenmann’s® Little Bites®   From January through March, TerraCycle® and Entenmann’s® Little Bites® want to reward you for making eco-friendly habits by Making the Pledge. If you collect Entenmann’s Little Bites pouches on behalf of a K-12 school, you could be placed in the running to win a special Classroom Party. It’s super easy to participate: just make the pledge, send in the waste, and earn more rewards! You can learn more about the Entenmann's® Little Bites ® Pouch Recycling Program by clicking the link to see how you and your school can get involved. Want even more fun? Here’s a link to DIY recycling project using Entenmann’s® Little Bites® as inspiration!

  A year ago, at the World Economic Forum in Davos, a report from the Ellen MacArthur Foundation found that most plastic packaging is used only once; 95% of the value of plastic packaging material, worth $80 billion-$120 billion annually, is lost to the economy after a short first use. Procter & Gamble just recently announced that it has teamed up with us at TerraCycle and Suez, the largest waste management company in Europe, to source, develop and put out the first fully recyclable shampoo bottle made from beach plastic for the world’s #1 shampoo brand, Head & Shoulders. The first 150,000 bottles will be available in France this summer, making it the world’s largest production run of recyclable shampoo bottles made with beach plastic, and a major step in establishing a unique supply chain that supports a new plastics economy.' Using the program created by TerraCycle and Suez as a sourcing method, P&G not only creates a market for recycled plastics, but a sustainable supply chain designed to feed back into itself.  Working with hundreds of NGOs and other beach cleanup organizations, TerraCycle sources the shipments of rigid plastics collected through beach cleanup efforts, capturing these materials for recycling for the first time, at no cost to participants. Being a steward for the recycled materials market has untapped resource and marketing potential for consumer product companies on many fronts. Recycling and recyclability being the most accessible and easily understood aspects of sustainability for consumers, pioneering the integration of more recycled materials into production, and developing end-of-life solutions for products and packaging, can allow companies to scale for growth and generate efficiencies in an increasingly competitive marketplace. Consumers do care about recycling. In a survey conducted for Packaging Digest’s 2015 Sustainable Packaging Study, 57% of participants cite a product’s recyclability to be top of mind when it comes to the environment and sustainability, a product featuring recycled content and reduced packaging coming up for second and third place. The majority of consumers see recyclability as the most important factor in choosing sustainable products, and it is consumers that ultimately drive company behavior. The scale of the beach plastics project focuses on the goal of incorporating more post-consumer recycled content (as P&G has for over 25 years, last year using 34,000 metric tons) across other P&G brands and globally, inspiring other world entities to do the same. P&G Hair Care is projected to see half a billion bottles per year include 25% PCR by the end of 2018, and the announcement is an important step in P&G’s mission to meet the Corporate 2020 goal of doubling the tonnage of PCR used in plastic packaging. Collecting waste materials to use them as resources to create new products is what recycling is about. Manufacturers and brands can create and expand the market for recycled plastics by purchasing recycled materials to make their products, selling them to consumers and then making the product easily recyclable. Brands rethinking plastic packaging production carve themselves a place in the new plastics economy, effectively addressing growing consumer demand for more circular waste solutions and greater responsibility on the part of consumer product companies.

Have you made your New Year’s resolution yet? Many of us make New Year’s resolutions with the intention of bettering our lives in some way, whether it’s eating healthier, getting out of debt, or getting in shape. This year, make the resolution of helping to make your environment better! This can be achieved in different ways, including composting, reducing food waste, and recycle, to give you a few ideas.   Make the pledge to recycle with Entenmann’s® Little Bites® and they’ll reward you for it! TerraCycle®, an international recycling company turns waste into plastic that can be used for products such as park benches, recycling bins, and playgrounds. Through the free recycling program, you can collect waste, like Entenmann’s® Little Bites® pouches, and ship to TerraCycle® for processing using a pre-paid shipping label. Additionally, you can upcycle their Littles Bites packaging, creating an organizer! From January through March 31st, 2017, TerraCycle® and Entenmann’s® Little Bites® want to reward you for making eco-friendly habits by making the pledge. And if you collect Entenmann’s® Little Bites® pouches on behalf of a K-12 school, you could be placed in the running to win a Classroom Party. It’s easy to participate: make the pledge, send in the waste, and earn more rewards.

As my boys are getting older, we are encouraging them to do everything possible to take care of our planet.  It’s important that they understand their role in protecting all of our valuable natural resources.  Aside from some subtle changes that we have made right here at home to conserve energy, we have been teaching them how to recycle some of the things that we use on a daily basis. Have you made your resolution yet for 2017?  Make the pledge to recycle with Entenmann’s® Little Bites® and they’ll reward you for it! TerraCycle®, an international recycling company turns waste into plastic that can be used for products such as park benches, recycling bins, and playgrounds.  Through the free recycling program, you can collect waste, like Entenmann’s® Little Bites® pouches, and ship to TerraCycle® for processing using a pre-paid shipping label. From January through March 31st 2017, TerraCycle® and Entenmann’s® Little Bites® want to reward you for making eco-friendly habits by making the pledge.  If you collect Entenmann’s® Little Bites® pouches on behalf of a K-12 school, you could be placed in the running to win a Classroom Party.  It’s easy to participate: make the pledge, send in the waste, and earn more rewards. The Entenmann’s Little Bites® Pouch Recycling Program is open to any individual, school or organization interested in reducing local landfill waste.

WILLINGBORO – A recycled playground is on the way this spring for Hawthorne Park Elementary School.   The school earned the playground, which has an approximate retail value of $50,000 and will be recycled from oral care waste, through the 2016 “Recycled Playground Challenge,” courtesy of Colgate-Palmolive, Shop Rite and recycling company TerraCycle.   The Recycled Playground Challenge included hundreds of schools throughout New York, New Jersey, Pennsylvania, Delaware, Connecticut and Maryland, which participated in the Colgate Oral Care Recycling Program, a free recycling program operated by Colgate and TerraCycle.   Hawthorne Park earned a total of 44,188 playground credits by recycling oral care waste and through online voting. While Catherine Doyle Elementary in Wood Ridge finished first in the contest with 48,355 credits, since that school was unable to accept the playground, it goes to the next finisher, which was Hawthorne Park.   The schools earn one “playground credit” for each unit of empty toothpaste tubes, toothbrushes, and floss containers sent to TerraCycle for recycling by students and teachers and one credit for every online vote cast for the school. A school or day care must be registered in the Colgate Oral Care Recycling Program in order to participate in the contest.   The Colgate Oral Care Recycling Program is an “ongoing activity, open to any individual, family, school or community group.”     Trenton-based TerraCycle, Inc. was founded in 2001. Its website calls it the “world’s leader” in the collection and repurposing of hard-to-recycle post-consumer waste, ranging from used chip bags to coffee capsules and even cigarette butts.