Gainesville Sun Online March 26, 2019
Keep Alachua County Beautiful began working with TerraCycle earlier this year, to recycle cigarette butts and install eight new receptacles downtown. For 30 years, Keep Alachua County Beautiful has collected cigarettes littering Gainesville streets. Now, for the first time, the nonprofit will recycle them. The organization started a new partnership with TerraCycle earlier this year, to recycle cigarette butts and install new receptacles. It has already installed at least eight in the downtown area. Gina Hawkins, the organization’s president, said cigarettes are the most littered item in the U.S. She believes a cleaner city will help stimulate more economic investment. “When people throw cigarettes, it sends a message to visitors and investors that this community doesn’t care,” Hawkins said. Any collected cigarette ashes, papers, plastics, filters and cartons will be sent to TerraCycle, a New Jersey-based company that offers free recycling programs funded by companies and manufacturers. The company will then repurpose the remains into other items such as hard plastic shipping pallets. For every pound of cigarette litter collected, the company will donate $1 to KACB’s parent organization Keep America Beautiful. The receptacles vary in size, but each one can hold approximately 10 pounds of cigarette butts. Sam Schatz, a sustainability intern at KACB who spearheaded the project, collects cigarettes from local restaurants and receptacles around town every day. People are more likely to properly discard their cigarettes in ashtrays provided by restaurants, he said.