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Butt It Matters

@buttitmatters

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A non profit dedicated to cigarette litter prevention through education, awareness and a community cigarette butt litter recycling program

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2023 GOALS REACHED: We finally had the time and the proper weather to get this done! Wrap up from our @keepamericabeautiful Cigarette Litter Prevention Program 2023 (receptacle/recycling program) OVER 60,000 CIGARETTE BUTTS HERE!!! That’s 3,000 packs of cigs kept out of our environment!! 🙏♻️🚬💚

THANK YOU everyone for taking part in helping us reach our goal set last year to at lest triple the 20,000 cigarette butts that were collected between Aug-Dec2022 (5 months) of our program - That’s right!!!
Over 60,000 cigarettes butts (filter) collected from Jan-Dec 2023
from clean outs of our participants receptacles and various community cleanups throughout 2023.
We would like to thank KAB for this amazing program, @terracycle for their amazing work recycling them into other plastic products, to our program participants for taking part in this great program and making a huge and impactful difference and to everyone that supports our mission of a greener and cleaner planet. Our goal for 2024 is to expand the program and to triple that amount! If you would like to help and/or take part in our program please feel free to DM us!! Photo credits to @dsf_photography taken in Rhode Island by @buttitmatters

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3 years ago

Dear Community Friends,

My name is Armand Fournier and I’m a local resident of South County. I am pleased to announce that I am in the start up phases of a local non profit called “Butt It Matters (501c3 pending). Butt it Matters was chosen for a 2022 Community Grant Award by Keep America Beautiful™️ in the amount of 50 cigarette litter receptacle (in-kind value of $6,000) to implement a cigarette litter prevention program that will be tied to a cigarette litter recycling program.
The CLPP is designed to help communities combat cigarette litter, the number one littered item in the World. Our goal is to educate smokers and non smokers that cigarette butts are litter too and they are toxic and dangerous to our health and environment. We will be offering cigarette butt receptacles and eventually portable pocket ash trays for proper disposal options for butts that will be collected and sent to a recycling center called TerraCycle @terracycle in Trenton, NJ and recycled into some pretty awesome things! Click the link in our bio to watch a brief video to learn more. Once smokers become aware and have a place for proper disposal we believe they will do the right thing and stop littering their cigarette butts.
We are currently in the process of identifying fifty needy spots in our community where smokers often congregate and large volumes of cigarette litter is found. We are looking for businesses and organizations to participate in this recycling program as well as volunteers and sponsors to help fund, promote and keep the program going so we can eradicate toxic cigarette litter pollution in our community once and for all! If you or someone you know is interested in any of the above, please email us at buttitmatters@gmail.com. Supplies are limited but all inquiries will be considered. Requests must be made before the end of May to be considered for this initial batch!
Butt it Matters is very lucky to have the support of Keep America Beautiful™️ @keepamericabeautiful and our future community partners! taken in Narragansett, Rhode Island by @buttitmatters

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4 years ago

Thanks to the @keepamericabeautiful Cigarette Litter Prevention Program and some of our local coastal community small businesses that are participating in this program, we were able to keep all of these cigarette butts (filters) from potentially entering and contaminating our soils, oceans and waterways. Cigarette butts are the #1 littered item in the world and they are toxic to us, our marine-life, our wildlife and our environment! The filters are made of cellulose acetate which is a type of plastic that persist in the environment and is not biodegradable. Since our initial installs/scans/clean-ups 5 months ago, we have completed 53 receptacle clean outs which included scans and cleanups of the areas. We also teamed up with other community organizations for 6 other community cleanups. The outcome of our collaborative efforts has totaled a collection of 20,000 toxic cigarette butts - keeping them out of our environment and now they are being shipped to @terracycle to be cleaned, separated and turned into some really cool recycled plastic products!
We have had great results from our participants. Since having the receptacles installed at their businesses location, the % of butts littered on the ground has been decreased by approximately 85% as our community is becoming more aware of the receptacle program!
There are still cigarette litter receptacles available for local businesses and organizations that would like to take part to help make our community cleaner, greener, and safer for all while spreading awareness! 2023 is going to be an amazing year and our goal is to at lest triple the amount.

Thank you to our Participants:
@mewstavern @leospizzakingofpizzari @pellysplace @marinergrilleri @oneilspackagestore @belmontmarket @coastguardhouserestaurant & Pier Market Place taken in South County, RI by @buttitmatters

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4 years ago

Just before the nor’easter I did another pick at one of my favorite places I like to visit frequently. #taylorpointoverlook #jamestownri I am sure some of this came in with the tide. The whole cigarette pack with the shells in it really hit home!! 🥲 Get out and get involved, every bit helps!!🙏 taken in Taylor Point Lookout by @buttitmatters

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20 days ago

We’ve been tagged, and not quite in the way we would have liked.

These are the receptacles at the Narragansett State Pier. In addition to vandalism to two cigarette receptacles and a one-way sign, one of the padlocks was removed along with the canister that holds the cigarette butts. We’ve decided to install a new canister and lock and hope it doesn’t happen again.

The photo with the Maverick cigarette pack shows a trash-filled plastic barrier that was placed there for safety a couple of years ago after a storm ripped the end of the pier off and washed it ashore. To this day, the area has not been replaced or repaired. In the meantime, people have been using the barrier as a trash can and placing trash behind it. In a way, that also shows that people are trying to do the right thing with the limited options available.

We believe that if there were trash cans available at the pier, some of these issues could potentially be avoided. The condition of an area can influence how people treat it, and litter can often lead to more littering, vandalism, and general carelessness.

Most of the cigarette butts pictured were collected from the receptacles. Less than 30 were picked up from the ground, along with the miscellaneous trash shown.

We’re grateful to everyone who uses these receptacles to properly dispose of their cigarette waste. Every little bit helps keep our environment cleaner, greener, and safer for everyone. #CLPR #narragansettpier by @buttitmatters

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a month ago

We all picture litter as something big—a soda bottle, a fast-food bag, or an overflowing trash can.

But here’s the surprising part.

According to the Keep America Beautiful National Litter Study, 9 out of 10 pieces of litter are less than four inches in size.

So when we head into shopping center parking lots for a cleanup, we expect to find the obvious things.

Instead, what we find is hundreds of tiny pieces: cigarette butts, plastic fragments, straw wrappers, broken cutlery, bottle caps, and bits of packaging.

They’re so small that we barely notice them.

And that’s exactly the problem.

Because these tiny pieces don’t just disappear. They get washed into storm drains, carried into creeks and rivers, buried in the soil, and eventually make their way into our waterways, where they can break down into even smaller pieces and persist in the environment.

Somehow, we’ve become immune to seeing them.

A cigarette butt slips from our hand. A receipt blows out of our pocket. A wrapper falls even though there’s a trash can just a few steps away.

They’re tiny moments.

But together, they create a massive problem.

The next time you’re walking through a parking lot, don’t just look for the big pieces of trash.

Look down.

The smallest pieces are often the ones doing the biggest damage. by @buttitmatters

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2 months ago

No experience or tools necessary. Found a bag. Fill the bag. It turns outs even the experienced can make mistakes. When I left the ice bag containing debris that I picked up unattended to collect more the seagulls apparently thought it was a snack and scattered its contents everywhere. Repeated my actions 🤨 I should have known. Even the smallest amount #Matters 😂 #taylorspoint #damnseagulls #jamestownri #jamestown taken in Taylor Point Lookout by @buttitmatters

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2 months ago

Is plastic entering your lungs? Why so many just walk on by, ☹️ Every contribution #matters in safeguarding the planet and ourselves and you can make a difference too. In Rhode Island, for years quahog shells have been used for ashtrays by many until a trash can becomes available for proper disposal but also can be useful for collecting microplastics from our beautiful sandy beaches, which helps protect marine life and the ecosystem from the adverse effects of the returning tides bringing beach debris back out to #sea Do you know the harm of plastics? Here’s some information @lungassociation https://www.lung.org/blog/plastic-waste-your-health #narragansettbeach taken in Narragansett Beach, Rhode Island by @buttitmatters

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3 months ago

PLEASE SHARE FOR AWARENESS PURPOSES I had planned a simple walk along the beach, but upon finding a cup and a bunch of plastic I filled it and managed to clean just 50 feet of Rhode Island’s 400 miles of tide line within 20 minutes. Can you image what could be out there. Even the smallest effort makes a big difference. What are the harmful effects of plastic pollution on humans if not picked up in a timely manner.
Studies have found that plastic products and their waste can be toxic to humans, marine and wildlife. They enter and potentially harm the body through food, water, and skin contact. Some chemicals used in plastic manufacturing are labeled priority pollutants by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency.
Plastic is not biodegradable. Instead of breaking down completely, it forms smaller pieces called microplastics, which can last on Earth for centuries. Manufacturers have produced “biodegradable plastic” that can break down, but only through industrial composting, which is not common in the U.S. Plastic waste affects many areas of the natural environment, especially the oceans and the biodiversity of its ecosystems The causes and effects of plastic pollution are truly worldwide. The slow motion part of this reel shows one of 5 I found. Do you know what it is? Source: britannica.com/science/plastic-pollution taken in East Matunuck State Beach by @buttitmatters

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3 months ago

Do you know the likely destination of these without receptacles? This program’s awareness efforts over four years have been productive. We acknowledge the contributions of participating establishments in facilitating receptacle installation and fostering responsible waste disposal habits, as well as the smokers who have made effective use of them. It’s our belief that these collective efforts have factored into the State of Rhode Island’s approval of receptacles at Narragansett State Pier 5, an area that previously faced challenges over the years with cigarette litter. The impact achieved in a short timeframe is impressive. For those new to this cause, prior posts outline the environmental rationale behind this initiative. Given the noted decline in cigarette litter in the @keepamericabeautiful 2026 national litter study, continued efforts remain essential. Unite with us to be part of the solution, weather chosen to use the receptacles, volunteering, or donating to our community mission. (Link in our bio) Thank you to all the volunteers and to our supporters for helping to keep our community cigarette litter free!!#rhodeisland #cigarettelitterpreventionprogram #cigarettelitterrecyclingprogram participates @oneilspackagestore
@pellysplace
@leospizzakingofpizzari
@coastguardhouserestaurant
@marinergrilleri
@mews_tavern
@belmontmarket
@Narragansett Pier Marketplace
@tsrestaurants
@twotenobg
@thebeachrosecaferi
@breachwaygrill
@bikestopcafe @tetrahydroclub @rhodeisland.dem(Narragansett State Pier 5) taken in Rhode Island by @buttitmatters

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4 months ago

Single-use plastics are only used for a short moment, but they can persist in the environment for hundreds of years. Too often, bottles, wrappers, straws, and other plastic waste end up on our beaches and in fragile dune habitats.
Also, most plastics are not actually recyclable. When they are discarded, many ultimately end up being burned at one of the state’s waste incinerators, contributing to air pollution and greenhouse gas emissions.
Choosing reusable bottles, bags, and containers is a simple way to reduce waste, protect our coast and keep our environment clean. If you’re visiting the beach, please always pack out everything you bring in.
And as always, please stay off the dunes and keep beach gear off dune vegetation. These sensitive habitats help protect the beach, support wildlife, and deserve our care. 🙏

#zerowaste #beachcleanup #savethedunes taken in Nahant Beach - DCR by @buttitmatters

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4 months ago

A small act of kindness for #MotherEarth. Butts and balloons do not belong on our shorelines. We have the necessary facilities and yet some still fail. 🤜🚬🤛🤜🎈🤛. Please dispose of all your trash properly for the sake of every living thing on this #planet. Wait till the end!! taken in Taylor Point Lookout by @buttitmatters

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4 months ago