Chilliwack – It is a win-win program for the Chilliwack BIA Business Improvement Association, their merchants, Ruth and Naomi’s and the environment. Two weeks ago, a joint program was unveiled in a soft launch.
30 small recycling bins will be placed within the BIA as a trial run to ask smokers to place their used butts into marked containers.
RAN Mission crews will pick up the butts and do a quick street clean and get paid for the amount of used tobacco product they take to the recycler.
They get to keep the profits via TerraCycle. TerraCyle is a international recycling company that , under its umbrella, has a Unsmoke Cigarette Free Recycling Program.
The metal receptacles placed around downtown will look similar to those found along Vedder Trail for anglers to deposit used and tangled fishing line.
What caught the eye of BIA Executive Director Trevor McDonald and RAN Mission Executive Director Scott Gaglardi was a UFV report called “Casual Contamination, Chilliwakc’s Butt Problem. Basically, this was an off shoot from a problem due to the success of District 1881. It’s draws customers to the area and many of them still smoke.
So, what does one do with the butts? Hit the streets or hit these receptacles?
Armed with new reflective gear, RAN clients from the shelters will take care of the dirty work and make some money for RAN’s programs in the process.
From Trevor McDonald: Thanks for this Don, to be clear, this was an idea brought forward to me by Jamie Clare, who did a very thorough investigation into the problem of cigarette butt waste in our downtown. I was fortunate to already be working with Scott on a DWTN street cleaning program we put together last year funded by the City of Chilliwack. At the same time, I met the rep from terracycle in Vancouver at a conference who offered these receptacles free of charge so this was a no brainer…putting two great programs together. The crews could monitor the bins while cleaning the different zones downtown. I look forward to working with Scott on more great projects!
RAN Executive Director Scott Gaglardi spoke with FVN’s Don Lehn about the initiative (RAN’s contact info is here):
