TerraCycle, the world’s leader in the collection and repurposing of complex waste streams, has joined forces with Residents Forward, a grassroots community organization dedicated to preserving the natural beauty of Port Washington, to collect and recycle cigarette butts throughout the city’s Main Street area.
An event to formally announce the initiative will take place on Saturday, April 13, at 9 A.M. in the parking lot of Port Washington’s LIRR station at 60-62 Main St.
“The town is always looking for new initiatives to protect our bay and safeguard our drinking water.” Town Supervisor Judi Bosworth said. “With the help of our volunteers, TerraCycle’s cigarette recycling program can help keep our streets clean while preserving the habitats of local wildlife.”
The cigarette recycling pilot is the newest initiative of the “Give a Litter Bit” and “Clean Green Main Street” campaigns and engages both the Town of North Hempstead and the Greater Port Washington Business Improvement District in the waste collection process. Residents Forward funded the purchase of the cigarette butt receptacles, while the Town of North Hempstead officials have agreed to hang them throughout Port Washington and the BID will be working with Spectrum Designs to empty the receptacles.
The collected cigarette butts will then be shipped to TerraCycle for recycling where they will be separated by composition, melted into hard plastic and remolded for use in new products like shipping pallets.
“We hope the Litter Bit cigarette recycling pilot spreads awareness that cigarette butts are litter too,” said Betsy Liegey, executive vice president of Residents Forward. “By working together, we can make it easier to keep our downtown clean and protect our bay.”
Implementation of the pilot initiative will see six cigarette collection receptacles mounted near the railroad station along the town’s highly trafficked Main Street. In addition to the use of these receptacles, the “Give a Litter Bit” campaign asks community members and groups to take steps to reduce litter, including securing garbage bags during curbside pick-up, volunteering for litter-removal efforts, recycling through the town’s program and organizations like TerraCycle, and spreading the word on social media.
“Cigarette butts strewn on our sidewalks detract from the inviting shopping and strolling experience our local businesses count on,” said Mariann Dalimonte, executive director of the Greater Port Washington BID. “We are proud to sponsor the emptying of these receptacles along with other programs to keep our streets clean, including our Keep Port Clean team that operates April through October.”
TerraCycle has collected hundreds of millions of cigarette butts globally. Additionally, through its various recycling programs, it has engaged over 200 million people across 21 countries to collect and recycle more than eight billion pieces of waste that were otherwise non-recyclable.
