City of Salem Launches Expanded Cigarette Butt Recycling Program and Education Campaign

The City of Salem in coordination with SalemRecycles is expanding a city-wide program to collect and recycle cigarette butts. The expanded campaign will be rolled out in July.

Due to increasing demand, fifty new, larger capacity “butt bins” will be added to the existing fleet of bins, which were largely deployed in downtown and high volume areas of the City. Salem’s Park Your Butts Here” campaign, a partnership with Terracycle’s Cigarette Waste Brigade was initially launched in September 2015 and the first to roll out in New England. SalemRecycles and the Salem Department of Public Works have worked together to survey areas of the City in need of additional bins and to identify new areas for placement, such as parks and restaurants outside of the downtown area. The receptacles provide the City with one more tool in efforts to keep the City litter and pollution free.

“I am glad to see this program expanding,” said Salem Mayor Kim Driscoll. “We are constantly working to help keep Salem clean and cigarette waste is one of the most common and frustrating sources of litter. The new recycling receptacles and their larger distribution to high volume areas will be another good step in keeping our community clean, healthy, and inviting.”

Cigarette butts are the world’s most pervasive form of litter. Keep America Beautiful estimates that 38% of all roadside litter in the U.S. is tobacco-related waste. An estimated 195 million pounds of cigarette butts are improperly discarded in the United States annually. Globally, an estimated 3.5 trillion cigarette butts are littered every year. Contrary to popular belief, cigarette filters are not biodegradable.

“As a coastal city, Salem is particularly vulnerable to water pollution due to improperly disposed of cigarette butts. Cigarette butts flicked onto sidewalks and streets are washed into storm drains and carried right into the water. The cottony looking filter is actually made from plastic resins that do not biodegrade. They foul our water and harm marine life and birds,” states Susan Yochelson, a member of SalemRecycles and Outreach Coordinator for Salem Sound Coastwatch.

Cigarette butts collected through the Cigarette Waste Brigade are recycled into a variety of industrial products, such as plastic pallets. Any remaining tobacco is repurposed via tobacco-specific composting methods. The entire program is free to consumers. As an incentive to recycle, for every pound of cigarette waste collected, $2 will be donated to Salem Main Streets. 

Photo: KeepSalemClean (www.facebook.com/KeepSalemClean)