A nickel a butt adds up

Redemption programs have dramatically reduced the amount of bottles and cans that go into the waste stream. Now a restaurant owner in Portland, Maine, U.S.A. wants to do the same with cigarette butts, according to a story reported on WLBZ.

Mike Roylos says he’s tired of dealing with butts outside the Spartan Grill. “They’re everywhere. I sweep. They come back. Customers track them in on their shoes,” laments Roylos.

When the city’s new smoking ordinance failed to stop the butt barrage, Roylos decided to take matters into his own hands. He came up with the “No Butts Now” campaign.

He supplies a basket of baggies for the public to collect cigarette butts in Monument Square. Using donations from grateful customers, Roylos will buy the butts back for five cents a piece.

Sure, it’s a little gross..but a nickel’s a nickel. Billy O’Rourke lives a few blocks away at the Oxford Street Shelter and he went right to work as soon as he heard about the campaign. .

“It’s an opportunity for us homeless guys to be a productive part of society and make a few extra dollars,” said O’Rourke.

They may be tiny, but those butts add up.