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65 cigarette butt litter canisters installed at Neptune, Atlantic Beaches

These canisters were installed thanks to a partnership between the communities, Beaches Go Green and Keep America Beautiful.

It's pop quiz time: What's the most littered item on the planet? 

If you guessed cigarette butts, you're right. 

Cigarette butts are commonly found on the beaches; even more than plastic bags. 

To help curb this pollution, 65 cigarette butt litter canisters were installed across Atlantic and Neptune Beach, as well as high traffic areas at the Beaches Town Center.

"The goal is to have individuals put their butts in here. We'll then take them, collect them and take them to TerraCycle for recycling," says Lauren Mcphaul, the director of programs for Beaches Go Green. 

Once collected, TerraCycle says the cigarettes and packaging are separated by composition and melted into hard plastic. The ash and tobacco are separated out and composted in a specialized process. 

These canisters were installed thanks to a partnership between the communities, Beaches Go Green and Keep America Beautiful.

"Everyone wants to live in a greener, cleaner community," says Anne Marie Moquin, the Founder of Beaches Go Green.  "And so our mayors, our city manager, our city workers, everyone has been really supportive"

The organization posted a photo of the new containers on Facebook saying that it was a step in the right direction as far as cleaning up the number one man-made contaminant in the world’s oceans. 

Beaches Go Green provides environmental education around single-use plastic pollution and supports initiatives that creating less waste overall.

Want to help? Beaches Go Green is hosting an event Friday June 14 at 8 a.m. at 200 First St. 

Credit: Beaches Go Green
Friday, June 14, help Beaches Go Green clean up cigarette butts.

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