New · Recycle Your Butt
The butts we collect don't die in a landfill anymore.
We found a way to recycle them. We've teamed up with TerraCycle — they cover the shipping, clean and recycle the plastic, compost the tobacco, and turn what we pick up into new stuff. Then we buy collection buckets with it and go find more. A complete circle of everything we find.
The plastic gets a second life
Every filter we send in is cleaned, melted down, and turned into raw material for brand-new products.
Free, start to finish
TerraCycle's program is sponsored and prepaid. The only thing it costs you is the butts.
It funds the next cleanup
What we recycle helps pay for the collection buckets that catch the butts we haven't found yet.
The news
We're closing the loop
We've always cleaned butts off the ground. Now we can do one better — we can recycle them. We've partnered with TerraCycle's Cigarette Waste Free Recycling Program, and here's the deal: we ship them the butts we collect (they cover the postage), they clean and separate everything, recycle the plastic filters into raw material for new products, and compost the tobacco and ash.
We're using the same program to order collection buckets — so the butts we pick up today help fund catching the butts we'll pick up tomorrow. Everything we find feeds back into finding more. That's the whole idea: a complete circle, start to finish.
Not into the whole recycling thing?
Pick them up anyway.
Here's the honest truth: a butt in a trash can beats a butt in a storm drain every single time. Landfill isn't the dream, but it's a world better than washing out to the Bay. If all you do is grab butts off the ground and bin them, that's a win — full stop. No account, no shipping, no shame. Just cleaner ground.
The circle
How it works, end to end
Four steps, and then it starts over. Every butt we recycle helps buy the buckets that collect the next round.
Collect
Off the ground, at our cleanups, at HQ, or straight from your own ashtray.
Ship free
TerraCycle sends a prepaid label. The butts go to their facility at no cost to anyone.
Recycle
Plastic filters become raw material for new products. Tobacco and ash get composted.
Re-equip
Proceeds help fund collection buckets we place around the Bay — so there's always somewhere to put a butt.
Get involved
Three ways to help us recycle
Send them to TerraCycle yourself
- Make your own free TerraCycle account and join the Cigarette Waste Free Recycling Program.
- Collect butts in a sturdy plastic container or bag — never paper. Keep them fully extinguished and dry.
- Full box? Log in and request a free label (FedEx QR code or a UPS download).
- Seal it (under 50 lbs, max 18×18×18"), peel off old labels, and hand it to the carrier.
- Log your spot and your count on the Butt Map — that's how we track the win.
TerraCycle's program is for ages 21+. Wet or dripping boxes get turned away, so let them dry first.
Drop them at a cleanup
Already collecting on your own? Bring whatever you've got to any of our bi-weekly cleaning events and we'll fold it right into our TerraCycle shipment. No sorting, no shipping — just hand it over.
Check the calendar for dates, times, and places.
Bring butts extinguished and dry. A sealed plastic bag keeps the odor down.
Drop them at our HQ
Can't make an event? Bring your collection by our headquarters and we'll add it to the pile bound for TerraCycle.
20298 Marshall Street
Castro Valley, CA 94546
Bring them extinguished, dry, and in a sealed bag. 9am to 5pm, M-F.
Not sure how to store them first? See the FAQ below.
The payoff
The buckets that close the loop
The whole point of recycling isn't just tidier landfills — it's momentum. Proceeds from the program help us order dedicated collection buckets, which we place at the hotspots we clean most. More buckets means more butts caught before they ever reach a storm drain, which means more to recycle, which funds more buckets. Round and round.
Questions
The stuff people actually ask
Does it actually get recycled, or is this greenwashing?
It really gets recycled. TerraCycle cleans and separates the waste by material, turns the plastic filters into raw material that manufacturers use for new products, and composts the tobacco and ash in a specialized process. The paperboard box is the only part they don't take — that goes in your curbside recycling.
Do I have to do the TerraCycle program?
Nope. Recycling is the gold standard, but simply picking butts up and putting them in the trash is still a real win. A butt in a bin can't wash out to the Bay. If the program isn't for you, keep collecting anyway — the ground still ends up cleaner.
What can I send in?
Extinguished cigarettes, cigarette filters, loose tobacco pouches, outer plastic and inner foil packaging, rolling paper, and ash. The one thing they can't take is the paperboard cigarette box — recycle that through your city's curbside program.
How should I store butts before dropping them off?
Keep them fully extinguished and as dry as possible, in a sturdy plastic container or bag — never paper. A little baking soda in the container knocks down the odor. Dry matters: shipping carriers reject anything that drips.
Is there an age requirement?
TerraCycle's cigarette program is intended for people 21 and older. Dropping butts at our events or HQ has no such requirement — if you can pick up litter, you can help.
Where do I record what I find?
On the Butt Map. It's our primary data-collection spot — drop a pin for the location and log how many you found. Whether you recycle them or bin them, logging the count helps us prove the work is happening.