No butts about it
Clean St. John’s pilot project aims to help curb cigarette butt litter in city’s downtown
“It is important we take every possible measure to protect the environment now and for future generations.” Bernard Davis Minister of Environment and Climate Change
“As the most littered item in our city, cigarette butts are not just unsightly, they also have a negative impact on the environment that most people are unaware of.” Karen Hickman Executive director, Clean St. John’s
Smokers in downtown St. John’s who step out for a quick puff will soon have a place to put their cigarette butts instead of tossing and squashing them on the ground.
Clean St. John’s — a non-profit organization with a mandate to create and promote a litter-free city — launched an anti-cigarette butt litter pilot project Tuesday with the hope of creating a cleaner downtown.
Butt-free YYT is a pilot project aimed at raising awareness and inspiring change in smokers’ behaviour when it comes to cigarette butt litter.
“As the most littered item in our city, cigarette butts are not just unsightly, they also have a negative impact on the environment that most people are unaware of,” said Karen Hickman, executive director of Clean St. John’s, who attended an event at Bannerman Brewery on Duckworth Street to launch the pilot project.
Tossing cigarette butts on the ground has become a normalized way to dispose of cigarettes, she said, with smokers littering an estimated 14,000 cigarette butts on city streets daily.
Hickman said it also threatens the environment and ecosystems because cigarette butts — comprised of residual tobacco, paper and filters made of plastic fibres — don’t decompose when tossed on the ground.
Butt-free YYT takes a twopronged approach through education and infrastructure.
An awareness campaign aims to educate the public about the environmental impacts of cigarette litter, while 40 receptacles will be placed throughout downtown St. John’s. The group hopes it will encourage smokers to use them to dispose of their butts.
In her speech at Tuesday’s event, Hickman said the new pilot project “will help us take the next step to inspire environmental action.”
Clean St. John’s has partnered with Downtown St. John’s to determine the placement of the receptacles and to promote the pilot project to local businesses and organizations.
A local waste-management company will collect the receptacle waste.
All cigarette butts collected in the Clean St. John’s receptacles will be sent to Terracycle, a recycling company specializing in products that are challenging to recycle. The tobacco, ash and paper will be composted, while the filter will be separated, melted into hard plastic, pelletized and used to make recycled plastic products.
Clean St. John’s received a $22,750 grant from the Canopy Growth Community Investment Initiative and a $15,000 grant from the Multi-materials Stewardship Board’s (MMSB) solid waste management innovation fund.
The Canopy Growth Community Investment Initiative provides financial support to community projects that change where and how Canadians live in meaningful ways. The MMSB solid waste management innovation fund provides financial support to innovators who are advancing sustainable waste management in Newfoundland and Labrador.
During the pilot project, which will run from June 2021 to June 2022, Clean St. John’s will collect data on the number of cigarette butts disposed of in the 40 receptacles and work with contractors and local businesses to measure the project’s success. If it is successful, the project can be expanded to other areas of the city.
Bernard Davis, minister of Environment and Climate Change, who attended Tuesday’s event, said the project is one that shows a significant part of environmental protection is making the effort to address climate change.
“Every action we take makes a difference,” he said later in the House of Assembly, noting the start of Environment Week.
“We can all be environmental stewards in our province. A piece of litter begins in someone’s hand. It is important we take every possible measure to protect the environment now and for future generations.”
Karla Connolly, chairperson of Clean St. John’s board of directors, also attended Tuesday’s event, along with St. John’s city councillors Deanne Stapleton and Sandy Hickman, Canopy Growth NL district manager Angie Martin and Downtown St. John’s executive director Scott Cluney.