World’s First Cigarette Butt Recycling Program Launches in Canada

Vancouver, Canada – in a novel move which supporters hope will spread to cities across the globe, this Canadian metropolis of over 600,000 now boasts the world’s first cigarette butt recycling program. The environmentally friendly program is simple and features 110 strategically placed “Cigarette Butt Bins” on posts across downtown Vancouver. The idea is that people can now conveniently deposit their cigarette butts in the bins, which are placed at average human height.

The units will be emptied by workers from United We Can, a Downtown Eastside recycling non-profit that works with disadvantaged people from the neighbourhood.

Mayor Gregor Robertson stated that the program is a direct result of listening to constituents ask for convenient ways to deposit cigarette butts rather than flick them to the ground as is all too often customary. City employees working at the Downtown Eastside are tasked with the job of emptying out the bin’s contents and leaving them with the “United We Can” recycling business. Cigarette butts can be recycled into products for industrial use such as plastic pallets.

It should be noted that while cigarette butts eventually degrade, they retain their toxicity which can poison the aquatic life. The toxicity stems from the cellulose acetate used to create the spongy filter. The general manager of “United We Can” claims that cigarette butts are the most littered item in the world, 3.5 trillion every single year.

On The Web:
Cigarette butt recycling launched in Vancouver
http://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/british-columbia/cigarette-butt-recycling-launched-in-vancouver-1.2423913