Cigarette Litter Prevention Program

Cigarette butts are the biggest source of small litter in the world. Carmel Cares, as a Keep America Beautiful affiliate, is on a mission to eliminate butt litter and recycle 100% of the butts we find in Carmel-by-the-Sea.

Butt Receptacle with recycle graphics

It is rather shocking…

When Carmel Cares started collecting litter several years ago with our Pick Up Posse, we had no idea how big a problem cigarette butts were in the Village. After picking up and recycling over 200,000 butts, we came to the realization that we must do more. So, we applied for and received a Keep America Beautiful Cigarette Litter Prevention Program (CLPP) grant and got to work.

Believe it or not, we send in about 15,000 butts to a company called Terracycle every other month. They are processed into compost and resin powder that is used to make items such as patio furniture! Our dedicated Pick Up Posse volunteers find about half of them in the aging butt receptacles and half on the ground.

With approval from Carmel’s Planning Department, we have replaced the legacy receptacles with new ones provided by Keep America Beautiful. We developed custom graphics that let smokers know we will recycle butts placed in them. Next, we will be installing them near other cigarette smoking “hot spots”.

We are proud that our Village is cleaner, and actually smells better, because of our volunteer efforts to make Carmel-by-the-Sea a “Litter-Free” Community. You can help by volunteering, passing the word on to everyone you know, and making a tax-free donation to help us expand our work.

Click on the button below to watch a video that shows how Terracycle recycles the butts.