A new C-TRAN program will prevent thousands of discarded cigarette butts from going into landfills. Instead, they’ll be recycled.
In late August, C-TRAN began gathering all cigarette butts collected at Vine station receptacles and sending them to TerraCycle, a global, New Jersey-based recycling company that specializes in hard-to-recycle waste. Once received, the cigarette butts are separated by composition and melted into hard plastic. That material can then be used to make new recycled industrial products, including plastic pallets, according to TerraCycle. Any remaining tobacco and ash is recycled as compost.
As many as 1 to 2 pounds of cigarette butts are discarded at Vine stations every week. That’s the equivalent of roughly 2,000 to 4,000 individual butts. By packing them up and shipping them for recycling, it keeps a huge volume of waste from ending up in landfills or causing environmental harm. Cigarette butts currently collected at other C-TRAN facilities may be added in the future.
As part of the program, TerraCycle donates $1 to the Keep America Beautiful Cigarette Litter Prevention Program for every pound of cigarettes collected. C-TRAN will also designate a local charity to receive donations as part of the program.
The cigarette recycling program is spearheaded by the C-TRAN Green Team, an employee-led initiative aimed at making C-TRAN a cleaner, greener agency. In addition to positive internal changes, the Green team has led C-TRAN’s participation in numerous community events since its formation in 2017. The group has also organized two successful document shredding events at Fisher’s Landing Transit Center.
