Press Release: A Greener Future is Seeking Volunteers Across Canada to Join the Butt Blitz
NEWS RELEASE
August 3, 2021
For Immediate Release
A GREENER FUTURE IS SEEKING VOLUNTEERS ACROSS CANADA TO JOIN THE BUTT BLITZ
A Greener Future is seeking volunteers to join in Canada's largest cigarette cleanup, The Butt Blitz
Cigarette butts are the most littered item in the world – 4.5 trillion annually
Partnering with TerraCycle, all picked up butts are collected and repurposed into recycled products
Volunteer registration for The Butt Blitz is open now until August 31, 2021, at 5:00 pm (EST)
TORONTO, ON – A Greener Future is now recruiting volunteers from across Canada to join The Butt Blitz, the largest cigarette cleanup in Canada, to help pick up cigarette butts in their local communities.
Cigarette butts are the most littered item in the world – 4.5 trillion annually. The Butt Blitz aims to raise awareness, offer educational resources, and use data to develop viable solutions to combat the problem.
The Butt Blitz program saw 160 volunteers across 25 different cities picking up 825,796 cigarette butts this past April. To date, A Greener Future has picked up more than 2.1 million cigarette butts across Canada. The collected butts are sent to TerraCycle to be repurposed into recycled products. In addition, TerraCycle donates a dollar for each pound of cigarette butts back to support The Butt Blitz program.
A Greener Future's Founder, Rochelle Byrne, says, "We hope to prevent future littering by raising awareness of the negative impacts that cigarette butt litter has on ecosystems and health."
With new funding from Unsmoke Canada Cleanups, A Greener Future is hosting a month-long Butt Blitz campaign with the hard-hitting goal of picking up 1 million cigarette butts from across Canada throughout this September.
"The impact of our volunteers is not underestimated. More helping hands means we can multiply our environmental impact by picking up more litter. It also means we can increase awareness of the problem as more people out in communities taking action creates more visibility for the issues we're tackling. We wouldn't be able to pick up 1 million butts in just one month without our volunteers.", says Byrne.
Volunteering for The Butt Blitz is easy and flexible, whether just for a one-time pick-up or more. Volunteers must be 19 years or older to participate and are not required to have previous training. Volunteer opportunities are now open to 17 different locations across Canada.
Registration for The Butt Blitz volunteer opportunities is open until August 31, 2021, before 5 pm (EST).
ABOUT A GREENER FUTURE
Founded in 2014, A Greener Future is a non-profit organization whose mission is to work within local communities to promote environmental protection through organized litter cleanups, educational programs, and events. A Greener Future is committed to creating a clean, healthy environment for future generations. To learn more about the Butt Blitz through A Greener Future's Website: https://www.agreenerfuture.ca/the-butt-blitz and visit A Greener Future on Facebook and Instagram.
ABOUT TERRACYCLE
TerraCycle is an innovative waste management company with a mission to eliminate the idea of waste®. Operating nationally across 21 countries, TerraCycle partners with leading consumer product companies, retailers, cities, and facilities to recycle products and packages, from dirty diapers to cigarette butts, that would otherwise end up being landfilled or incinerated. In addition, TerraCycle works with leading consumer product companies to integrate hard to recycle waste streams, such as ocean plastic, into their products and packaging. If you are interested in recycling cigarettes in your community, contact litter@terracyle.com. To learn more about TerraCycle, visit www.terracycle.com.
ABOUT UNSMOKE CANADA
Unsmoke Canada Cleanups is a grant-giving program established in 2020 through a partnership between The Great Outdoors Fund and Unsmoke Canada. The Great Outdoors Fund is a non-profit dedicated to generating voluntary funding from the private sector to assist public agencies and their non-profit partners in keeping the great outdoors healthy and open for the benefit and enjoyment of people of all ages, abilities, and socio-economic backgrounds. Unsmoke Canada is an initiative of Rothmans, Benson & Hedges (RBH) to help rid Canada of cigarettes by 2035. Rothmans, Benson & Hedges recognizes its responsibility to be stewards of its products and is committed to encouraging and enabling society to reduce litter globally.
MEDIA CONTACTS:
Rochelle Byrne, Executive Director/Founder
705-791-5358 | rochelle@agreenerfuture.ca
Samantha Brewer, PR Assistant
289-788-6454 | samantha@agreenerfuture.ca