Working together to keep our communities litter-free!
No butts about it—we’re recycling cigarette litter, and we need your help!
You are already doing a great job by cleaning up litter. Don’t throw away the cigarette butts you find. Recycle them for free with TerraCycle.
Are you a KAB affiliate or CLPP grantee? Click here to access your TerraCycle account and download a free shipping label to send in your cigarette waste. If you don’t already have an account, you can easily sign up to start recycling.
If you’re not a KAB affiliate or CLPP grantee, fill out the form below to get your free shipping label for cigarette waste.
Here’s how it works:
1. Collect your cigarette butts in a sturdy, sealable bag or container
2. Fill out the form below to get a free shipping label
3. When you’re ready to ship, seal your bag or container, place it in a box you have around the house, and print your free shipping label
Did you know cigarette butts are the world’s most littered item, with about 4.5 trillion cigarettes discarded each year worldwide and 9.7 billion cigarette butts discarded along roadways and waterways in the United States? And most cigarette filters are made of plastic fibers, which don’t break down naturally and will persist in our environment when littered.
Removing this litter from our communities through organized cleanups is just the beginning of keeping cigarette butts out of our parks and waterways. After hosting a cleanup, collecting them at home, or with a cigarette receptacle, separate cigarettes from other trash and send them to TerraCycle to be recycled for FREE through the Cigarette Waste Free Recycling Program!
How we recycle cigarettes
The butts are shredded and sanitized to remove contaminants. Then they are separated into tobacco, paper, and cellulose acetate filters. Tobacco and paper are dried and mixed with other organic materials to create compost. The filters are dried and turned into a powder that’s used to make plastic products.
TerraCycle and Keep America Beautiful invite community organizations, nonprofits, and local municipalities to collect cigarette waste and clean up their neighborhoods.
Keep America Beautiful is the nation’s leading community improvement nonprofit organization, inspiring and educating people to take action every day to improve and beautify their community environment. If you’re not already signed up for the Keep America Beautiful newsletter, click here to subscribe.
TerraCycle is an international leader in innovative sustainability solutions, creating and operating first-of-their-kind platforms in recycling, recycled materials, and reuse. Across 21 countries, TerraCycle is on a mission to rethink waste and develop practical solutions for today’s complex waste challenges. You can #RecycleEverything collected during community cleanups through our free and paid recycling solutions. Get started by creating an account.
Need help getting started? Reach out to litter@terracycle.com for all of your cigarette waste recycling questions!
