From butts to benches: Help bring cigarette recycling to Philly

If ripping butts were an arena sporting event, Philly would show up wheezing and take home the title belt every year. We have more cigarette smokers than any of the 10 largest U.S. cities, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. But the good news is there's now a chance for our tar-lunged populace to do some good for the environment.

Litter-prevention organization Keep Philadelphia Beautiful is accepting applications for $5,000 in microgrants that will allow community-organizations to turn discarded cig butts into useful things.

Here's a list of useful things to do with cigarette butts:

Found objects for Tyler student's art projectGifts from angry protesters outside Pat Toomey's officeStage props for theater groups

Then there's a company called Terracycle that recycles your extinguished Newports and American Spirits and turns them into park benches and other utilitarian objects. Don't ask me how. The company accepts all the smoker's components, including the filters, papers, loose tobacco, outer plastic packaging and inner foil on each cigarette pack. Just look at the flowcharts on terracycle.com and believe the magic you read on the internet.

Nonprofits, CDCs, business associations, even small businesses - any community-based organization that sees a good bit of smoker traffic can apply. Read the guidelines online (found here) and then apply (here). Proposals are due by Friday, May 26.

The immediate goal should be obvious: less litter. But there are ancillary benefits to the community where these receptacles end up.

"Litter abatement prevention is linked to a number of positive effects on physical and mental health, economic development, and crime and safety," says Michelle Feldman, executive director of Keep Philadelphia Beautiful.

Keep Philadelphia Beautiful is in its third year doing microgrants for litter abatement and prevention. In addition to stuff like this, the organization's grants have supported community assets such as a tool library through the South Kensington Community Partners.

Feldman says the cigarette litter initiative dovetails closely with the city's newly established Zero Waste and Litter Cabinet, which is helmed by Nic Esposito in the Managing Director's Office. But Feldman notes this is also an economic and community health experiment for applicants. The grant money doesn't just provide the receptacle, but also follow-up surveys and research to see the initiative's impact on the immediate area of the receptacles.

"If you're a small business owner, a clean business corridor is linked with better values," Feldman says.

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