Salem to Launch “Park Your Butts” Campaign
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
September 4, 2015
Salem to Launch “Park Your Butts” Campaign
Effort aims to reduce cigarette waste on streets and sidewalks, redeploys existing cigarette waste recycling receptacles
Salem, MA – On September 9th, Salem Mayor Kim Driscoll kicks off a new marketing campaign to keep the streets of Salem clean called “Park Your Butts!” “Park Your Butts” aims to increase the success of cigarette recycling in Salem. The launch will take place at 2:30 p.m. in Town House Square at the intersection of Essex Street and Washington Street.
Last fall, the City of Salem and Mayor Driscoll unrolled its latest program to enhance the sustainability and livability of the city through cigarette recycling, a program that was first of its kind in New England.
Butt bins for cigarette recycling have been strategically placed around the downtown area and labeled with bright yellow decals to make them visible. Once full, butts are sent to New Jersey based TerraCycle, where they are recycled into industrial-grade plastic goods.
“Cigarette butts are a regular nuisance in Salem” said Mayor Driscoll. “Cigarette waste is one of the most common forms of litter on our streets and sidewalks. Having these receptacles available and more strategically situated and labeled should provide us one more tool in our efforts to keep our City clean, while maintaining our commitment to being green and eliminating our overall trash output.”
“Salem Sound Coastwatch applauds the City of Salem for tackling the problem of cigarette butts on the street,” said Barbara Warren, Executive Director of Salem Sound Coastwatch. “Cigarette butts pollute the ocean. When it rains they are washed into the storm drains and most people don’t realize that the filters, which look like cotton, are actually made of chemical enriched plastic fibers that birds and marine life mistake for food,” she continued.
Butt bins have been placed in 70 convenient locations throughout the downtown area and the project is picking up steam. After a year of monitoring their use in these locations, the bins have been relocated to more strategic locations and have received a “makeover” with fresh, bright decals, designed to be more noticeable.
Salem Sound Coastwatch interns, Anthony Belis and Emmanuel Silva, both participants in the “Talking Trash for Clean Oceans” program, worked this winter and spring on several improvements to the project. Silva and Belis surveyed, mapped, and relocated the bins based on their utilization and assisted in designing the new decals.
Future plans for “Park Your Butts” include enlisting the help of local business owners and Salem residents to increase the usage of the bins and to expand the program outside of the downtown district to city parks and other neighborhoods.
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