After a long two years of planning and tweaking, TerraCycle, the recognized leader in upcycling items that previously were considered non-recyclable, is now accepting used cigarette butts for its latest Brigade. This amazing project was the brainchild of TC’s founder Tom Szaky. Admittedly, many thought it was a bit harebrained but the company pursued the idea and has now launched the campaign. It’s yet another amazingly useful and easy way for consumers to help eliminate the variety of waste and trash that all too often ends up either in landfills or blowing across our streets and yards. So, if you’re a smoker or know someone who is, take a look at getting involved in this program. It’s a great way to earn money for your favorite charity and help keep the air cleaner for everyone.

Cigarette butts are the most littered item in America and make up 38% of all trash on U.S. roadways, according to Keep America Beautiful. Annually, worldwide cigarette butt litter amounts to 1.69 billion pounds. TerraCycle Inc., a company devoted to creating recycling systems for hard-to-recycle waste, has teamed up with Sante Fe Natural Tobacco Co. to create an alternative to leaving cigarette butts on roadways or putting them into landfills. The tobacco company will sponsor TerraCycle's Cigarette Waste Brigade, which will allow individuals and groups to collect cigarette waste, print a prepaid shipping label and then mail the cigarettes to TerraCycle, where they will be turned into new products such as shipping pallets, railroad ties, plastic lumber and ash trays. TerraCycle's mission is to solve waste issues and eliminate the idea of waste, and cigarettes have been on their list of items to tackle for a long time. They believe that to solve waste problems, less desirable forms of waste such as cigarettes need to be dealt with, too. "We started out doing a lot of consumer packaging and we really wanted to take on some more serious issues. There is no more serious of an environmental issue when it comes to litter and waste than cigarette butts," Albe Zakes, Global VP of Media Relations for TerraCycle, told Earth911. The program is aimed to target cigarette waste in two ways. First, it will take aim at cigarette waste that has already been littered by working with anti-litter groups and beach clean-up efforts, since those people are already collecting trash and disposing of it in landfills. Second, the program will work with larger facilities like shopping malls, office parks, bars and other places where cigarettes are consumed in large numbers and responsibly discarded, Zakes explained. "Because of how many cigarettes are consumed and because of the rate of consumption, we do expect this to be a very, very impactful and patroned program." Zakes said. "The goal is to collect hundreds of millions of butts, if not more. We want to make a dent. Unless you're collecting hundreds of millions of butts, you're not making a dent." Those age 21 or older who are interested in getting involved can visit TerraCycle's website to sign up for the brigad

RICHMOND, Va. — A subsidiary of the nation's second-largest cigarette maker Reynolds American Inc. is funding a national recycling program to reward do-gooders for cleaning up tobacco waste and turn cigarette butts into pellets used to make items such as plastic shipping pallets, railroad ties and park benches. New Mexico-based Santa Fe Natural Tobacco Co., the maker of Natural American Spirit cigarettes, is teaming up with TerraCycle Inc. for the program.

A subsidiary of the nation's second-largest cigarette maker Reynolds American Inc. is funding a national recycling program to reward do-gooders for cleaning up tobacco waste and turn cigarette butts into pellets used to make items such as plastic shipping pallets, railroad ties and park benches. New Mexico-based Santa Fe Natural Tobacco Co., the maker of Natural American Spirit cigarettes, is teaming up with TerraCycle Inc. for the program. It aims to snuff out one of the most littered items in the U.S. that yields about 135 million pounds of cigarette butts annually that get tossed on roadways, thrown in the trash or put in public ashtrays.

RICHMOND, Va. — A subsidiary of the nation’s second-largest cigarette maker Reynolds American Inc. is funding a national recycling program to reward do-gooders for cleaning up tobacco waste and turn cigarette butts into pellets used to make items such as plastic shipping pallets, railroad ties and park benches. New Mexico-based Santa Fe Natural Tobacco Co., the maker of Natural American Spirit cigarettes, is teaming up with TerraCycle Inc. for the program. It aims to snuff out one of the most littered items in the U.S. that yields about 135 million pounds of cigarette butts annually and get tossed on roadways, thrown in the trash or put in public ashtrays. “You don’t have to walk or drive very far to see that smokers often discard cigarette waste in ways that litter the environment,” Santa Fe’s head of sales and marketing, Cressida Lozano, said in a statement. The cost of the company’s sponsorship that will be officially announced Thursday was not disclosed. Through the Cigarette Waste Brigade program, organizations as well as people over the age of 21 can collect cigarette waste and send them to TerraCycle through a prepaid shipping label. Once received, participants will get credits that will be donated to Keep America Beautiful, a nonprofit community action and education organization. They’ll receive about $1 per pound of litter, which equals about 1,000 cigarette butts. TerraCycle, based in Trenton, N.J., will then recycle the filters into pellets used to make a number of items, including ashtrays. The paper and tobacco also will be composted. The company took nearly two years to develop the process to recycle cigarette butts, which are comprised of paper, tobacco, ash, and a filter made from cellulose acetate. TerraCycle CEO and founder Tom Szaky said the program provides a solution for the filters that are properly disposed of in an ashtray or can, but still end up in a landfill. Szaky said that the company is committed to “recycling waste that others deem worthless or unsavory.” Recycling cigarette litter will promote the idea that “everything can and should be recycled,” he said. Cigarette waste accounted for 38 percent of all U.S. roadway litter, according to a 2009 study done by Keep America Beautiful. The study also found that cigarette butts were the most common litter item collected at sites including retail areas, storm drains, loading docks, construction sites and recreational areas. Additionally, more than 1 million cigarettes or cigarette butts — enough to fill nearly 58,000 packs — were removed from American beaches and inland waterways in 2011 as part of the Ocean Conservancy’s annual one-day International Coastal Cleanup. Cigarette litter represented about 31 percent of the total debris collected, making it the most-found item as part of those efforts. “Trash is really too valuable to toss, so we need to find alternative ways to up cycle and change trash and repurpose it,” said Nicholas Mallos, a marine debris specialist with group. In 2003, Keep America Beautiful launched a cigarette litter prevention program, and it has grown to include more than 800 programs in 49 states and Washington, D.C. It was developed with funding from the nation’s largest cigarette maker Philip Morris USA, which is owned by Richmond, Va.-based Altria Group Inc. The program also has received additional funding from Winston-Salem, N.C.-based Reynolds American, maker of Camel and Pall Mall cigarettes. The new cigarette program builds on other recycling efforts by TerraCycle, which encourages consumers to collect difficult-to-recycle materials through programs funded by companies within specific industries. For example, Frito Lay Inc. funds a program to recycle used chip bags and Kraft Foods Inc. sponsors a program to collect plastic containers from dairy products. For most programs, participants receive credits that can be donated to various charities and causes.

RICHMOND — A subsidiary of the second-largest US cigarette maker, Reynolds American Inc., is funding a recycling program to reward do-gooders for cleaning up tobacco waste and then turn cigarette butts into pellets used to make shipping pallets, railroad ties, park benches, and ashtrays. Santa Fe Natural Tobacco Co. is teaming up with TerraCycle Inc. for the program. ‘‘You don’t have to walk or drive very far to see that smokers often discard cigarette waste in ways that litter the environment,’’ said Santa Fe’s sales chief, Cressida Lozano. Through the Cigarette Waste Brigade program, people over age 21 and organizations can send cigarette waste to TerraCycle with a prepaid shipping label. They will get credits that will be donated to Keep America Beautiful, a nonprofit organization. They will receive about $1 per pound of litter, which equals about 1,000 cigarette butts. TerraCycle will then recycle the filters into pellets. The paper and tobacco will be composted. TerraCycle chief executive and founder Tom Szaky said the program also provides a solution for filters that are properly disposed of but still end up in a landfill. Cigarette waste accounted for 38 percent of all roadway litter, according to a 2009 Keep America Beautiful study.

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.

SANTA FE, N.M. -- Santa Fe Natural Tobacco Co. (SFNTC) has teamed up with TerraCycle Inc., a developer of solutions for hard-to-recycle materials, to do something about cigarette butt litter. With funding from SFNTC, TerraCycle is launching a national program to collect and recycle cigarette waste. The Cigarette Waste Brigade will divert used cigarette butts from landfills. By sponsoring this program, SFNTC is not only taking responsibility for the end-life of its products, but also for the products of its competitors, it said. "You don't have to walk or drive very far to see that smokers often discard cigarette waste in ways that litter the environment. Our company has been committed to environmental sustainability since we were founded 30 years ago, and we're proud to be the exclusive sponsor of an innovative program to reduce and recycle cigarette butt litter, regardless of which manufacturer made the cigarettes," said Cressida Lozano, the head of sales and marketing for SFNTC. "The Cigarette Waste Brigade has the potential to transform public spaces across the country, drastically reducing the amount of litter that is discarded," said TerraCycle CEO and founder Tom Szaky. "Furthermore, the Cigarette Waste Brigade will provide a solution for the filters that are properly disposed of in an ashtray or can, but today still end up in a landfill." Cigarette filters (and other related tobacco waste) are the No. 1 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 are 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. 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. To participate in the Cigarette Waste Brigade, interested individuals can visit www.terracycle.com to sign up for free. They can collect filters normally in receptacles such as ashtrays, then bag the waste in any plastic bag--which gets recycled as well--before being placed in a shipping box. Once the collect enough waste they log into their account and print a free prepaid UPS shipping label to return their box at no cost. Trenton, N.J.-based TerraCycle is an international upcycling company that takes difficult-to-recycle packaging and turns it into affordable, products. Santa Fe, N.M.-based SFNTC, a unit of Reynolds American Inc., Winston-Salem, N.C., manufactures Natural American Spirit additive-free, natural tobacco cigarettes and roll-your-own (RYO) tobaccos, which include styles that are made with 100% organic tobacco as well as 100% U.S. grown tobacco. In other company news, the Reynolds American Foundation is donating $140,000 to the American Red Cross to help provide relief to victims of Hurricane Sandy. "Our thoughts are with the folks who are having to endure such hardships as a result of the devastating storm," said John S. (Tripp) Wilson, president of the foundation. "Our hope is that this donation will support continued relief efforts for the people and communities affected by Hurricane Sandy."