The new integrated bioplastic packaging debuted at Global Pet Expo 2019.   Braskem, the largest thermoplastics polyolefins producer in the Americas, and the leading producer of biopolymers in the world has partnered with Earth Animal, purveyor of health improving veterinary formulated products, to announce a new sustainable packaging initiative using Braskem’s sugarcane based I’m green Polyethylene (PE) biopolymer.   “Earth Animal has always been passionate about how, why, and what we do, and for us, we have felt that sustainability is a major part of our DNA,” said Stephanie Volo, VP of Marketing and Sustainability for Earth Animal.   “For over 40 years, our promise has been to preserve and enhance the quality of life for animals, people and the earth. And, partnering with Peel Plastics and Braskem to design and develop our Wisdom Dog Food packaging using the I’m green Polyethylene biopolymer was a natural fit given each company’s commitment to sustainability. We couldn’t be happier with the result,” added Volo.   Since 1979, Earth Animal has been dedicated to helping dog and cat parents achieve their animals’ health and healing objectives. As part of this commitment, Earth Animal is launching Dr. Bob Goldstein’s Wisdom dog food, crafted in small batches, and made with humanely, American-raised poultry, organic fruits and vegetables, as well as Vitality Cubes filled with essential vitamins and minerals. Each ingredient is thoughtfully sourced and using their patented wind technology, carefully air-dried to preserve essential nutrients, without the use of high temperatures or pressure, which can degrade the nutritional benefits of the ingredients.   Earth Animal will include at least 30% bioplastic packaging material into every bag of new line of Dr. Bob Goldstein’s Wisdom Dog Food, supporting their overall commitment to improved environmental sustainability and carbon reduction. To further enhance the environmental profile of the new more sustainable packaging, Earth Animal is partnering with TerraCycle in order to provide an end-of-life package recycling program.   Joe Jankowski, Commercial Manager for Braskem’s Renewables team in North America, stated, “With Earth Animal’s passion for sustainability and Peel Plastics expertise in packaging innovation, we are excited to partner with them both to bring the benefits of Braskem’s I’m green Polyethylene biopolymer to Dr. Bob’s Wisdom product launch.   Because transparency, quality, and sustainability are at the core of Earth Animal’s business, we are pleased to help bring that same approach to an exterior product packaging that resonates with consumers increasing desire for more sustainable materials and recyclability.”   Earth Animal’s Dr. Bob Goldstein’s Wisdom dog food line is launching in turkey and chicken recipe flavors packaged in one, three and ten-pound bags. The whole Wisdom line will be available at leading independent pet specialty stores throughout New England, the Mid-Atlantic and Pacific Northwest and online atwww.earthanimal.com in April 2019.   Braskem's I'm green Polyethylene is a bio-based resin made from ethanol, a renewable and sustainable resource produced from Brazilian sugarcane. I'm green Polyethylene retains the same properties, performance and application versatility of fossil fuel derived polyethylene, making it an ideal drop-in substitute for conventional oilbased polyethylene. Cultivation of sugarcane utilized in the production of I'm green Polyethylene captures carbon dioxide (CO2) and releases oxygen (O2), which means Braskem’s bioplastic has a negative carbon footprint. From a cradle-to-gate life-cycle perspective, every ton of I’m green Polyethylene used in the production of packaging equates to 3.09 tons of CO2 captured from the atmosphere.   With over 40 years of experience as a recognized leader in flexible packaging solutions and process innovation, Peel Plastics has developed extensive knowhow into the unique packaging requirements and technologies of the pet food business. The Peel Plastics team worked with Earth Animal and Braskem to design, develop and integrate the I’m green Polyethylene biopolymer into a new packaging solution that maintains all the performance characteristics required, while delivering a solution that is better for the environment.   Weijia Zhang, Business Development Manager of Peel Plastic Products, commented, “with an emphasis on delivering maximum nutrition to pets and pet parents, Earth Animal’s packaging requirements aligned perfectly with the properties of I’m green Polyethylene. We are excited to be able to combine high performing materials with our production expertise to deliver a package dedicated to meeting consumer and market needs.”  

Recycling Today’s sustainability alert is a weekly roundup of sustainability news and announcements. TerraCycle, Mountain House announce free packaging recycling program Mountain House, Tangent, Oregon, and TerraCycle, Trenton, New Jersey, have partnered to offer consumers a free, easy way to recycle packaging from the freeze-dried food company’s product line. Mountain House labels itself as the gold-standard brand of camping and backpacking food. Through the Mountain House Recycling Program, consumers can send in their empty pouches to be recycled for free. Consumers can sign up on the TerraCycle program page and then mail in the packaging using a prepaid shipping label. Once collected, the packaging is cleaned and processed into a rigid plastic that can be molded into new recycled products. Additionally, for every pound of material shipped to TerraCycle, collectors can earn $1 to donate to a nonprofit, school or charitable organization of their choice. “Mountain House is giving their customers the unique opportunity to minimize their environmental impact by offering them a way to responsibly dispose of the packaging from their freeze-dried meals,” TerraCycle CEO Tom Szaky says. “In turn, by participating in the Mountain House Recycling Program, customers are one step closer to truly minimizing their environmental impact.” The Mountain House Recycling Program is open to any interested individual, school, office, or community organization. In other TerraCycle news, Gillette, Boston, Massachusetts, customers will now be able to recycle disposable razors, replaceable-blade cartridge units and associated packaging nationally through a similar program and partnership with TerraCycle. Through the Gillette Recycling Program, participants can sign up for the program on TerraCycle’s website, package the razors in a secure, puncture proof package and send it to TerraCycle for recycling. Community organizations are also invited to set up public drop-off locations to support the program. TerraCycle and Gillette will provide an exclusive razor recycling bin. Starbucks trials recyclable cups Starbucks announced customers in New York, San Francisco, Seattle, Vancouver and London will help test a few different cups that will be both recyclable and compostable. The recyclable cup designs are a result of the NextGen Cup Challenge, in which 12 winners were announced February. Through the challenge, Starbucks, which is moving towards a goal to eliminate plastic straws from all stores worldwide by 2020, challenged brands, including Coca-Cola Company and McDonald’s, to develop recycling solutions for paper cups. In addition, Starbucks will roll out new lightweight, recyclable strawless lids to all stores in the United States and Canada in the next year, while strawless lids for cold drinks were rolled out in select stores last year. Starbucks says it is also testing some of the NextGen winner’s solutions that could apply to straws. Growing the Mr. Trash Wheel project Invented by John Kellet in May 2014 and maintained by Waterfront Partnership as part of its Healthy Harbor Initiative, the solar-powered Mr. Trash Wheel collects litter and debris from Baltimore’s Inner Harbor. The trash wheel project has collected and prevented more than one million pounds of discarded material, including plastic bags, foam containers and water bottles, from entering the oceans since its installation. The river’s current provides power to turn the water wheel, which lifts waste and debris from the water and deposits it into a dumpster barge. When the dumpster is full, the material is taken to a waste-to-energy plant, where it is burned to generate power for Maryland homes. According to a spokesperson for the initiative, Waterfront Partnership holds occasional “dumpster dives” to sort and recycle the collected plastics and polystyrene, but currently there are no plans to increase recycling of the material. “The Healthy Harbor team always says that the ultimate goal is for the trash wheel family to go out of business,” the spokesperson says. Two additional trash wheels have been installed in Baltimore with a fourth wheel in the planning stages for Gwynn's Falls, Baltimore. Beyond Baltimore, San Francisco Bay Area and Ballona Creek, California, have started the fundraising process to install trash wheels, with a goal to launch the projects by spring 2020.

Recycling Today’s sustainability alert is a weekly roundup of sustainability news and announcements. TerraCycle, Mountain House announce free packaging recycling program Mountain House, Tangent, Oregon, and TerraCycle, Trenton, New Jersey, have partnered to offer consumers a free, easy way to recycle packaging from the freeze-dried food company’s product line. Mountain House labels itself as the gold-standard brand of camping and backpacking food. Through the Mountain House Recycling Program, consumers can send in their empty pouches to be recycled for free. Consumers can sign up on the TerraCycle program page and then mail in the packaging using a prepaid shipping label. Once collected, the packaging is cleaned and processed into a rigid plastic that can be molded into new recycled products. Additionally, for every pound of material shipped to TerraCycle, collectors can earn $1 to donate to a nonprofit, school or charitable organization of their choice. “Mountain House is giving their customers the unique opportunity to minimize their environmental impact by offering them a way to responsibly dispose of the packaging from their freeze-dried meals,” TerraCycle CEO Tom Szaky says. “In turn, by participating in the Mountain House Recycling Program, customers are one step closer to truly minimizing their environmental impact.” The Mountain House Recycling Program is open to any interested individual, school, office, or community organization. In other TerraCycle news, Gillette, Boston, Massachusetts, customers will now be able to recycle disposable razors, replaceable-blade cartridge units and associated packaging nationally through a similar program and partnership with TerraCycle. Through the Gillette Recycling Program, participants can sign up for the program on TerraCycle’s website, package the razors in a secure, puncture proof package and send it to TerraCycle for recycling. Community organizations are also invited to set up public drop-off locations to support the program. TerraCycle and Gillette will provide an exclusive razor recycling bin. Starbucks trials recyclable cups Starbucks announced customers in New York, San Francisco, Seattle, Vancouver and London will help test a few different cups that will be both recyclable and compostable. The recyclable cup designs are a result of the NextGen Cup Challenge, in which 12 winners were announced February. Through the challenge, Starbucks, which is moving towards a goal to eliminate plastic straws from all stores worldwide by 2020, challenged brands, including Coca-Cola Company and McDonald’s, to develop recycling solutions for paper cups. In addition, Starbucks will roll out new lightweight, recyclable strawless lids to all stores in the United States and Canada in the next year, while strawless lids for cold drinks were rolled out in select stores last year. Starbucks says it is also testing some of the NextGen winner’s solutions that could apply to straws. Growing the Mr. Trash Wheel project Invented by John Kellet in May 2014 and maintained by Waterfront Partnership as part of its Healthy Harbor Initiative, the solar-powered Mr. Trash Wheel collects litter and debris from Baltimore’s Inner Harbor. The trash wheel project has collected and prevented more than one million pounds of discarded material, including plastic bags, foam containers and water bottles, from entering the oceans since its installation. The river’s current provides power to turn the water wheel, which lifts waste and debris from the water and deposits it into a dumpster barge. When the dumpster is full, the material is taken to a waste-to-energy plant, where it is burned to generate power for Maryland homes. According to a spokesperson for the initiative, Waterfront Partnership holds occasional “dumpster dives” to sort and recycle the collected plastics and polystyrene, but currently there are no plans to increase recycling of the material. “The Healthy Harbor team always says that the ultimate goal is for the trash wheel family to go out of business,” the spokesperson says. Two additional trash wheels have been installed in Baltimore with a fourth wheel in the planning stages for Gwynn's Falls, Baltimore. Beyond Baltimore, San Francisco Bay Area and Ballona Creek, California, have started the fundraising process to install trash wheels, with a goal to launch the projects by spring 2020.

FREE INSTRUMENT RESTRING/RECYCLING EVENT HOSTED BY INSTRUMENTAL MUSIC CENTER

Local musicians are invited to attend a free recycle and restring event at Instrumental Music Center in Tucson, AZ on Monday April 8, 2019 from 12:00 PM - 6:00 PM. Sponsored by D’Addario and TerraCycle, musicians can bring any old instrument strings for recycling and get their electric or acoustic guitars restrung with D’Addario NYXL or Nickel Bronze Acoustic strings. Old strings collected during the event will be recycled through Playback, D’Addario’s free, national recycling program.

Gillette, in partnership with international recycling leader and Trenton-based TerraCycle, announced for the first-time in the United States, that all brands of disposable razors, replaceable-blade cartridge units and razor plastic packaging are recyclable on a national-scale. Through the innovative partnership consumers are invited to recycle their razors in three ways: • Gillette Razor Recycling Program – Participants wishing to recycle their razors from home are invited to sign up on the program page https://www.terracycle.com/en-US/brigades/gillette. When ready to ship their waste they can simply download a self-funded TerraCycle tracking label, package the razors in a secure, puncture proof package and send it to TerraCycle for recycling. • Gillette Razor Local Recycling Solutions – Businesses, gyms, colleges, cities and community organizations are invited to become public drop-off points for the Gillette Razor Recycling Program. Participants interested in becoming a drop-off point are invited to sign up on the program page https://www.terracycle.com/en-US/brigades/gillette-local-recycling. After acceptance to the program, they will be sent an exclusive razor recycling bin developed by TerraCycle and Gillette. Once full, they can simply seal and return the bin to TerraCycle via UPS and a new one will be sent back to them. The address listed in the account will be posted on the publicly available map of local recycling solutions on the Gillette Razor Recycling Program page. • Gillette On Demand Razor Recycling Program – Consumers that participate in the Gillette On Demand subscription service are also invited to recycle their razors through the Gillette Razor Recycling Program. They can sign up on the program page at https://www.terracycle.com/enUS/brigades/gillette-on-demand, when they are ready to ship their waste they can simply download a self-funded TerraCycle tracking label, repackage the used razors in the On Demand delivery box and send it to TerraCycle for recycling. “Through this innovative, first of its kind program, disposable razors, replaceable-blade cartridge units and their associated packaging are now nationally recyclable through the Gillette Recycling Program,” said TerraCycle CEO and founder Tom Szaky. “We are proud to partner with this forward-thinking company to offer consumers a way to divert razor waste from landfills.” “We are very excited about our partnership with TerraCycle to offer recycling for Gillette, Venus or any razor brand across the U.S. This is an important first step towards sustainable solutions for shaving products and the start of an exciting journey with Gillette and TerraCycle. We are thrilled to bring this option to our consumers in the U.S. and are already working on plans to rollout to more countries very soon.” said Gillette CEO, Gary Coombe. Organizations that participate in the Gillette Razor Local Recycling Solutions as a public drop-off location earn money for the waste that they recycle through TerraCycle’s Sponsored Waste Recycling Program. For every shipment weighing at least fifteen pounds, collectors earn points that can be used for charity gifts or converted to cash and donated to charities of their choice. The collected packaging will be recycled into a variety of new consumer products such as park benches, bike racks, pet food bowls and recycling bins. To learn more about the program, please visit http://www.terracycle.com.

 

The Loop system, created by New Jersey-based Terracycle, could change the way people consume goods.

By Kevin J. RyanStaff writer, Inc.@wheresKR

CREDIT: Terracycle

 

American toy business, MGA Entertainment, has partnered with recycling business, TerraCycle, to roll-out a recycling program for Lol Surprise toys.

The partnership is set to make it easier for US consumers to recycle their Lol Surprise packaging. Consumers will be encouraged to save the packaging assets including wrappers, balls, bags and trays and place them in a cardboard box. Revealing the program via social media, MGA CEO, Isaac Larian, said that the program will come to international markets later in the year. “[I am] excited to announce our partnership with TerraCycle to make it even easier for fans to recycle Lol Surprise packaging. “Simple and easy – fans will collect their packaging and product assets in a cardboard box from home; once box is filled, go to TerraCycle website to secure shipping label! “Start saving all your packaging (wrappers, bags, balls, trays, etc.) now! “[The] program will kick off in the US beginning in May, and will roll-out internationally later this year. Soon all of MGA products and packaging will be recyclable. “We all must do our part to save this beautiful planet for the next generation. Global warming is NOT a 'hoax',” Larian posted on LinkedIn. The program was announced on Global Recycling Day, 18 March. To read more about how a small business can begin to reduce its environmental impact, click here. Read more at http://www.toyhobbyretailer.com.au/news/mga-entertainment-global-warming-is-not-a-hoax#H94hGcYEOyqxbZct.99

Spring is our most honest season and the sidewalk glaciers that are rapidly receding are the most honest brokers around.   They contain the truth of Toronto and right now the truth is butts. Endless butts. As if preserved in amber, the great spring melt is revealing thousands of cigarette butts on our streets in great piles and in long toxic carpets that will wash into the lakes and rivers if not swept up soon.   Spring is our most honest season and the sidewalk glaciers that are rapidly receding are the most honest brokers around.   They contain the truth of Toronto and right now the truth is butts. Endless butts. As if preserved in amber, the great spring melt is revealing thousands of cigarette butts on our streets in great piles and in long toxic carpets that will wash into the lakes and rivers if not swept up soon.   A collection of cigarette butts trapped in sidewalk glaciers.  (SHAWN MICALLEF / FOR THE TORONTO STAR)   There’s more than just butts though; the glaciers provide an opportunity for urban archeology of the recent past. Along just one block of College St., the glaciers revealed a baked potato, a giant screw, a notebook, water bottles, clothing, shoes, and an entire Christmas tree that had been, until recently, completely buried.   There are also bikes that were caught in one of the recent blizzards. The lack of snow clearing, coupled with a few warm days, where the snow drifts turned to slush before freezing again, caused bikes parked along the sidewalks to become trapped like woolly mammoths in ice, impossible to move without a pick axe and a lot of muscle.   So there most stayed, not necessarily abandoned, just immobile. They’ll loosen up just as coats and scarves are in this fleeting transition time, when solid ground becomes mud for a few weeks as Toronto goes through its brown period before bits of green appear. Still, like Newfoundland icebergs in July, some of the most resilient sidewalk glaciers will linger on our streets for a while yet.   Pay attention to them as you pass through the city and their unusual beauty may grow on you. They are, of course, filthy, but grit-filled ice, some of it as black as asphalt or charcoal, makes for an exquisite material for accidental sculptures.   They melt and hollow out in strange ways and shapes, creating new dirty ice stalagmites during subsequent freeze-thaw cycles, the worst popsicles you could ever taste.   It’s not often we get to watch something disintegrate on the street. Along some streets that weren’t properly cleared, block-long glaciers lay in the gutter, nearly indistinguishable from the road surface. As they too shrink, tiny rivers of melt water will form mini ravines in them, like how Toronto itself was formed over time.   Like or loath winter, proper snow clearing or not, this time of year reveals how poorly we treat the public realm. Or at least how some of us do. It’s almost boring to write about this and it seems futile: litterbugs are eternal. And yet, it’s such an upsetting thing to witness, in action or in aftermath, it always demands push back.   A bicycle frozen in sidewalk ice.  (FOR THE TORONTO STAR)   As a responsible dog owner who sometimes searches for wayward turds on night walks with my iPhone flashlight, the amount of thawing poop in public places right now is distressing too. Who are these people who don’t stoop and scoop? You shame the rest of us. Worse, you shame your canine, an innocent who just needed to go and hoped you’d do the right thing.   Some of it is even bagged. The bagged poop, left out, is a subset of this genre that is most confounding: bag it only to leave it in a snow bank? Why the half measure? This phenomenon happens on hiking trails too: people will bag it then leave it at the trailhead.   As for the cigarette butts, they seem to be the last socially acceptable form of litter. Tolerated, at least. The quick flick of a thumb and finger, a flash of embers, it’s satisfying, I get it. For a brief couple years in the 1990s I smoked. The old, prone to breaking down, Pontiac Sunbird I drove had a lighter and built-in ashtray, but I flicked every butt out the window without a thought. Now that seems reprehensible, but that at the time was normal. Everyone did it.   While butts can be consistently found nearly everywhere, they tend to cluster in front of cafes and bars, the kinds of social spaces where people go outside for a smoke, then flick them a few metres away without thinking. If you stare at just the gutters, you’ll know you’re passing such an establishment without looking up because of all the butts.   Four years ago, a pilot project was started though a partnership between the Centre for Addiction and Mental Health, the West Queen West Business Improvement Area, Councillor Mike Layton’s office and a recycling company called TerraCycle. Boxes that smokers could butt out in were installed on poles and businesses emptied them and sent the butts away for recycling. The responsibility was shared, though smokers bear the most. We need more of this.   Spring cleaning, if we still go in for that sort of thing in this low tax city, will return Toronto to its usual state of cleanliness, which isn’t what it once was. That’s a choice we’ve collectively decided to make.   Shawn Micallef is a Toronto-based writer and a freelance contributor for the Star. Follow him on Twitter: @shawnmicallef     A collection of cigarette butts trapped in sidewalk glaciers.  (SHAWN MICALLEF / FOR THE TORONTO STAR)   There’s more than just butts though; the glaciers provide an opportunity for urban archeology of the recent past. Along just one block of College St., the glaciers revealed a baked potato, a giant screw, a notebook, water bottles, clothing, shoes, and an entire Christmas tree that had been, until recently, completely buried.   There are also bikes that were caught in one of the recent blizzards. The lack of snow clearing, coupled with a few warm days, where the snow drifts turned to slush before freezing again, caused bikes parked along the sidewalks to become trapped like woolly mammoths in ice, impossible to move without a pick axe and a lot of muscle.   So there most stayed, not necessarily abandoned, just immobile. They’ll loosen up just as coats and scarves are in this fleeting transition time, when solid ground becomes mud for a few weeks as Toronto goes through its brown period before bits of green appear. Still, like Newfoundland icebergs in July, some of the most resilient sidewalk glaciers will linger on our streets for a while yet.   Pay attention to them as you pass through the city and their unusual beauty may grow on you. They are, of course, filthy, but grit-filled ice, some of it as black as asphalt or charcoal, makes for an exquisite material for accidental sculptures.   They melt and hollow out in strange ways and shapes, creating new dirty ice stalagmites during subsequent freeze-thaw cycles, the worst popsicles you could ever taste.   It’s not often we get to watch something disintegrate on the street. Along some streets that weren’t properly cleared, block-long glaciers lay in the gutter, nearly indistinguishable from the road surface. As they too shrink, tiny rivers of melt water will form mini ravines in them, like how Toronto itself was formed over time.   Like or loath winter, proper snow clearing or not, this time of year reveals how poorly we treat the public realm. Or at least how some of us do. It’s almost boring to write about this and it seems futile: litterbugs are eternal. And yet, it’s such an upsetting thing to witness, in action or in aftermath, it always demands push back.     A bicycle frozen in sidewalk ice.  (FOR THE TORONTO STAR)   As a responsible dog owner who sometimes searches for wayward turds on night walks with my iPhone flashlight, the amount of thawing poop in public places right now is distressing too. Who are these people who don’t stoop and scoop? You shame the rest of us. Worse, you shame your canine, an innocent who just needed to go and hoped you’d do the right thing.   Some of it is even bagged. The bagged poop, left out, is a subset of this genre that is most confounding: bag it only to leave it in a snow bank? Why the half measure? This phenomenon happens on hiking trails too: people will bag it then leave it at the trailhead.   As for the cigarette butts, they seem to be the last socially acceptable form of litter. Tolerated, at least. The quick flick of a thumb and finger, a flash of embers, it’s satisfying, I get it. For a brief couple years in the 1990s I smoked. The old, prone to breaking down, Pontiac Sunbird I drove had a lighter and built-in ashtray, but I flicked every butt out the window without a thought. Now that seems reprehensible, but that at the time was normal. Everyone did it.   While butts can be consistently found nearly everywhere, they tend to cluster in front of cafes and bars, the kinds of social spaces where people go outside for a smoke, then flick them a few metres away without thinking. If you stare at just the gutters, you’ll know you’re passing such an establishment without looking up because of all the butts.   Four years ago, a pilot project was started though a partnership between the Centre for Addiction and Mental Health, the West Queen West Business Improvement Area, Councillor Mike Layton’s office and a recycling company called TerraCycle. Boxes that smokers could butt out in were installed on poles and businesses emptied them and sent the butts away for recycling. The responsibility was shared, though smokers bear the most. We need more of this.   Spring cleaning, if we still go in for that sort of thing in this low tax city, will return Toronto to its usual state of cleanliness, which isn’t what it once was. That’s a choice we’ve collectively decided to make.   Shawn Micallef is a Toronto-based writer and a freelance contributor for the Star. Follow him on Twitter: @shawnmicallef  

 

  It all began with six streets in downtown Gainesville. In two days, Keep Alachua County Beautiful staff and volunteers collected almost 700 cigarette butts. The organization started the cigarette litter prevention program in 2006. Still, cigarette litter remains a problem. Every year, volunteers scan the same streets and collect cigarette butts. Usually, they weigh the trash they collect, but because cigarette butts are so light, there’s no point. “Their weight has little importance on their effect,” says Gina Hawkins, the executive director of Keep Alachua County Beautiful. Hawkins said there was a 64 percent decrease in cigarette litter six years ago. That was one year after she entered her position. Despite the improvement, Hawkins said the decreases had diminished over the years, and something more had to be done. In order to combat the issue, the group created a new method within the program. Maia Crook, its grant coordinator, is one of the few people who helped start the new method within the cigarette litter prevention program. It began in January when Keep Alachua County Beautiful started partnering with local businesses to help reduce litter by limiting cigarette butts. According to Crook, the new goal of the program is to target businesses that smokers often frequent, like bars or restaurants. Here’s how they do it: Every week, the group will send out volunteers to pick up buckets they provided to local businesses. They empty them and bring them back to headquarters. When all of the buckets are emptied, the group sends the cigarette butts to a company called Terracycle. From there, the litter gets melted into plastic to make new products. Ash and tobacco are separated and composted. Crook said the program is applying for a grant because it wants to expand to other businesses in Gainesville. “Sometimes businesses want to participate but they are too far away to send someone to pick up their cigarette litter,” Crook said.  

  The grant will also be used to purchase more portable/pocket ashtrays, according to Crook. She said this is a quicker way to encourage smokers to dispose of their cigarette waste properly. Currently, funds are used to buy disposal receptacles that Keep Alachua County Beautiful places in front of businesses with heavy traffic. Hawkins said they range in price because of where they go. They can cost as little as $35 and as much as $175. Some are large and have to be screwed into the ground, while others are small and attach to a wall. “We’re trying to encourage people to do more,” Hawkins said. And they are. DeLynn Salafrio, owner of Agricultural Permitting Services LLC, 60, received a degree in geology from the University of Florida but said she’s been passionate about conservation work and marine life for as long as she can remember. She’s owned the company for 25 years. A few years ago, Salafrio said she and a friend worked together to make cards to distribute within the community. On the front is a picture of a turtle that Salafrio painted herself. The back features a brief excerpt about Salafrio and her reasoning behind creating the card. It also lists seven facts about cigarette litter. Salafrio said she found out about Keep Alachua County Beautiful’s program and wanted to help. She partnered with the group and now helps by passing out cards and pocket ashtrays in Gainesville and elsewhere. “It’s been exciting and fun because this is my dream,” Salafrio said. “To stop cigarette litter and educate people one person at a time.” She’s even gone as far as creating her own Facebook group called the Mermaid Effect in February. Salafrio said the group organizes cleanups in places like Hunter Springs and Crystal River. For Valentine’s Day, they passed out candy with cards. According to Salafrio, if someone feels special, they’ll listen. When trying to convince someone to stop littering or speak out if they see it, it’s better to be nice about it than to berate them. Just recently, Salafrio said she visited Chassahowitzka in Citrus County to pass out her cards. People told her of a local man who throws about two packs of cigarette butts off his porch every day. They made unpleasant comments about him, and when Salafrio confronted the man she was moved. Since then, Salafrio plans to make a personalized clay pot for him so he can throw away his cigarette butts properly. She also plans to create fun and eye-catching smoking receptacles to encourage people to dispose of cigarette waste in the right place. “The receptacles we have now, they’re ugly and you can’t see them,” Salafrio said. “Or there aren’t any at all and that’s the problem.” The following businesses are participating in Keep Alachua County Beautiful’s program:

• Dragonfly Sushi
• Gainesville House of Beer
• Gators Dockside
• High Dive
• Lillian’s
• Loosey’s, Downtown
• Main Street Bar & Billiards
• Original American Kitchen
• Steamers Downtown
• Havana’s Wine & Cigar Lounge
• Boca Fiesta/Palomino

   

Event Information

Local musicians are invited to attend a free recycle and restring event at Crestwood Music Shop in Crestwood, KY on Saturday April 6, 10-3PM

About this Event

Sponsored by D’Addario and TerraCycle, musicians can bring any old instrument strings for recycling and get their electric or acoustic guitars restrung with D’Addario NYXL or Nickel Bronze Acoustic strings. Old strings collected during the event will be recycled through Playback, D’Addario’s free, national recycling program.