The metal boxes are for collecting cigarette butts that are then recycled by TerraCycle.

PITTSFIELD, Mass. — Cigarette waste recycling boxes have contributed to the beautification of North Street.

In the fall, TerraCycle containers were installed between the intersection of Maplewood Avenue and the Berkshire Family YMCA. This was done by Downtown Pittsfield Inc. with funding from Downtown Blooms and support from Pittsfield Beautiful and Mill Town Foundation.

It is working, as the corridor has fewer cigarette butts on the sidewalks and in its landscaping.

Managing Director Rebecca Brien explained that the pilot program was brought forward by Pittsfield Beautiful, whose volunteers realized there was a need when finding cigarette butts in planter boxes.

"As they were working on the plantings with the Downtown Blooms program, which was adding lovely perennial gardens within our downtown, they saw that there was definitely a need to be able to provide something for cigarette butts in the downtown," she said.

"As they were doing cleanup and maintaining those planters, it was very evident."

The containers allow for free cigarette waste recycling and are emptied by volunteers.

They are located at the corner of Bradford Street and the corner of Linden Street, St. Joseph's Church, the seating area by the Berkshire Family YMCA, and two are located by the Ralph J. Froio Senior Center. These were identified as areas with the most need.

Once collected and shipped back to TerraCycle, the cigarette waste is cleaned and separated by material type. It is then recycled into raw formats that manufacturers use to make new products. The ash and tobacco are also separated and composted in a specialized process.
 
"We are also very lucky that at this point in time, we do have volunteers who are emptying them for us on a regular basis," Brien said.

"The cigarettes themselves are packaged into boxes, and TerraCycle actually suggested using old shipping boxes to recycle them and we are provided a label to send them directly back to the organization at no cost to us."

The project cost less than $600.  

Downtown Blooms is a collaboration between the city, Downtown Pittsfield Inc., Pittsfield Beautiful, the Downtown Pittsfield Cultural Association, MassDevelopment's Transformative Development Initiative, Selbert Perkins Design, and Boston-based landscape designer Jennifer O'Donnell.

Nature-inspired gardens are implemented downtown as part of a three-year project that began in 2023.

"Pittsfield Beautiful is all volunteer-driven. The city of Pittsfield basically supplies the funds that they would normally supply for plantings in the downtown for us to support the purchase of the flowers themselves," Brien explained.

"And then Downtown Pittsfield Inc. and the Downtown Pittsfield Cultural Association, which is our 501(c)3 arm, do fundraising to be able to do additional projects such as this. Things like our downtown cleanup also now fall under this umbrella."

The containers were installed in September but the organizations wanted to give time to make sure that they were being used and the project was sustainable.

Brien reported they are "definitely" being used and need to be emptied regularly.  Multiple business owners are interested in purchasing containers or being a part of the program outside of the pilot, she reported.

The goal is to find another sponsor so that additional cigarette waste containers can be installed in the springtime.

If any businesses in the downtown areas are interested in supporting the effort or helping fund new containers on the block, they can contact DPI at 413-443-6501.

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