No Butts About It: Salem Is Recycling Cigarettes

SALEM, MA -- Every year about 4.5 trillion cigarette butts end up in dumpsters and landfills, or get tossed on shorelines, parks, and sidewalks, and a good number of those butts end up in Salem. The city is hoping its cigarette recycling program will help curb the unsightly mess. In addition to operating 50 butt bins, the city is now letting businesses "adopt a butt bin."

While the program is three-year-old, the public-private partnership is relatively new. The first business to participate in the program, Northey bed & Breakfast, unveiled its Butt Bin near Bit Bar in Salem, according to the Salem Cigarette Recycling Program. Businesses interested in participating in the program can get more information by sending an email Julie Rose at jrose@salem.com.

The collected butts are shipped to a processing plant and recycled into a wide range of materials, including plastic pallets and park benches. Ash and tobacco are separated and composted. The program also accepts cigarette packaging

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Photo by Salem Cigarette Recycling Program.

Dave Copeland can be reached at dave.copeland@patch.com or by calling 617-433-7851. Follow him on Twitter (@CopeWrites) and Facebook (/copewrites).