Saturday's butt clean-up at the CCC has a big difference – the chance to recycle these materials
Cigarette butts litter. By Powel Cizerwinski-Free Use Domain-Upsplash
By: Cecilia Nasmith, Northumberland 89.7 FM News
Cobourg
The Town of Cobourg's Environmental Services Department invites volunteers to take part in a cigarette-butt clean-up Saturday, May 10, from 10 a.m. to noon at the Cobourg Community Centre.
Cobourg Mayor Lucas Cleveland hosted his own such event last month, but this one is held in collaboration with A Greener Future. All cigarette waste collected Saturday will be recycled through the TerraCycle UNSMOKE Cigarette Recycling Program.
Volunteers are asked to meet in the lobby of the CCC (750 D'Arcy St,) at 10 a.m. to pick up gloves, buckets and garbage grabbers. Due to the nature of the material being collected, this clean-up is recommended for those aged 19 and older.
The press release provided further information on cigarette butts, which are the most-littered item in the world – about two-thirds of the six-trillion cigarettes smoked each year end up in the environment.
Along with the remnant of the smoked cigarette, the butts contain a plastic filter. These white filters may look like cotton, but they are actually cellulose acetate, which breaks down into microplastic fibres. This substance does not degrade naturally in the environment, and takes 18 months to 10 years to break down.
Butts that end up in water release nicotine, arsenic, tar and even heavy metal, One littered butt can contaminate 1,000 litres of water.
For more information, contact Jennifer Leno at Environmental Services at jleno@cobourg.ca or 905-377-5881.
