Westwood Village Opens California’s First Cigarette Butt Recycling Program

Cigarette butts beware — cigarette waste recycling is finally coming to California! TerraCycle and Los Angeles’s Westwood Village have teamed up to bring the very first cigarette butt recycling program to the state of California. By partnering with TerraCycle, the Westwood Village Improvement Association will be installing 15 cigarette butt receptacles across various highly trafficked sidewalks throughout the area, allowing smokers to responsibly and safely dispose of their cigarette butts. With an estimated 3.5 trillion of these butts littered across the world every year, Westwood Village’s commitment to keeping this toxic and ubiquitous waste stream off the street and out of landfills is an exciting step forward for public health and the environment.

Any cigarette butts collected in Westwood Village will be sent to TerraCycle, where every component of the waste is processed. The plastic-fiber filter will be recycled into industrial products such as shipping pallets and railroad ties, while any paper or leftover tobacco is composted.

Are you over the age of 21 and interested in recycling cigarette butts in your community? Check out the Cigarette Waste Brigade and sign up for free today!