Cigarette Litter Prevention and Recycling Program

Keep the Tennessee River Beautiful is proud to participate in the Keep America Beautiful Cigarette Litter Prevention & Recycling Program. Primarily through grants and receptacles donated in-kind from Keep America Beautiful, we now have approx. 2,000 cigarette receptacles installed within all seven states of the Tennessee River watershed. That’s over $200,000 worth of infrastructure protecting our waterways!

The art wraps share educational information about cigarette litter. Intended to both educate and beautify, the receptacle art-wraps were designed by Dan Frye, a former graphic designer for HGTV and The Food Network. We’ve also received supportive funding from TVA, TDOT’s Nobody Trashes Tennessee campaign, Keep Tennessee Beautiful, and the American Eagle Foundation for this project.

in the news…

Media Release on KAB Award - 2.26.24
The Weather Channel - 11.13.23
Media Release on Recycler of the Year Award 8.30.23
The Weather Channel - 5.9.22
WATE (Knoxville, Tennessee TV) - 9.6.22
WPSD (Kentucky/Tennessee TV) - 8.30.22
Media Release on Dollywood Project - 8.30.22
Media Release on Program in every TN State Park - 5.27.21
Media Release announcing CLPR Program - 6.26.19

how it works

Cigarette filters are comprised of tightly compacted microfibers of plastic, which get recycled into outdoor plastic furniture through our program. First, our partners install and maintain our art-wrapped cigarette receptacles on their property. When the receptacles are full, we send free shipping labels provided by TerraCycle. The cigarette butts are then shipped to a TerraCycle facility for the plastic from the cigarettes to be recycled into outdoor plastic furniture.

Why it matters

The Tennessee River watershed is the most biodiverse river system in North America and one of the most biodiverse in the world. Not only is the Tennessee River the drinking source for millions of people living within the Tennessee Valley, but it also drives our regional and national economies. The Tennessee River generates $12 billion a year just in the recreation industry alone! Some facts about the impact of litter on the Tennessee River watershed:

• Cigarettes are the no. 1 littered item in the world.

• One cigarette butt can contain enough toxins to kill aquatic life within two gallons of surrounding water.

• Toxins released from cigarette butts into our water can include cadmium, lead, and arsenic.

• Because they are small and light, cigarette butts littered in parking lots and elsewhere on land are easily washed into our river through storm drain systems or simply downhill and in ditches to reach our waterways.

• Cigarette butts are a microplastic problem. Cigarette filters are comprised of tightly compacted microfibers of a plastic called cellulose acetate. Within just weeks of being in the water, the cigarette butt filter can break down into microplastics.

Award-winning work,
first of its kind!

Among the partners in our Cigarette Litter Prevention & Recycling Program is Dollywood. Through collaboration with Keep the Tennessee River Beautiful, Dollywood is now the 1st theme park in the world to recycle the plastic from every cigarette butt collected on its property. This is significant, as the Pigeon River (part of the Tennessee River watershed) flows through the center of the Dollywood theme park.

This collaboration has led to state- and national-level awards. We have been honored with the following awards for our collaboration with Dollywood:

• 2023 Nonprofit Recycler of the Year | the Tennessee Recycling Coalition

• 2023 National Innovation Award | Keep America Beautiful

A Network of Partners Protecting the Tennessee River

It really is astonishing how many organizations and businesses have stepped forward to make our Cigarette Litter Prevention & Recycling program possible! While every one of our partners is helping to make a difference, here are some truly remarkable partnerships:

• As mentioned, Dollywood is the 1st theme park in the world to recycle the plastic from every cigarette butt collected on their property, having recycled hundreds of thousands of cigarette butts since 2022!

• Our receptacles are installed at every Tennessee State Parks-owned campground and marina, a total of 35 sites!

• The Clayton Home Building Group has installed our receptacles on all twelve facilities that they have located within the Tennessee River watershed. So far, they’ve helped to recycle tens of thousands of cigarette butts since first receiving the receptacles in 2023!

• Volkswagen of Chattanooga has joined our program, installing dozens of receptacles at their plant in Chattanooga that sees over 5,000 employees a day!

Here’s a full list of all of the partners that manage our cigarette receptacles within all seven states of the Tennessee River watershed:

Alred Marina, LLC.

Arrowhead Resort

B and B Marina

Beach Island Marina & Resort

Beyonder Getaway Wheeler Lake

Bicentennial Capitol Mall

Big Bear Resort

Big Cypress Tree State Park

Big Hill Pond

Big Ridge

Birdsong Resort

Bledsoe Creek

Blue Springs Marina

Booker T. Washington

Boone Lake Marina

Botel Campground

Buck's Pocket State Park Campground

Burgess Falls

Caney Creek Marina

Cedar point campground

Cedars of Lebanon

Chickamauga Fly, Bait and Casting Club

Chickamauga Marina

Chickasaw State Park

City of Chattanooga Parks Maintenance Division

City of Chattanooga Parks Maintenance Division

Clayton Homes Facilities

Clifton Marina

Concord Marina

Cordell Hull

Cove Lake

Cuba Landing Marina

Cumberland Mountain

Cumberland Trail

Cummins Falls

David Crockett

David Crockett Birthplace

Dayton Boat Dock

Dollywood

Dunbar Cave

Eagleton College and Career Academy Fishing Team

Edgar Evins

Erwin Marine Riverfront

Fall Creek Falls

Florence Harbor Marina

Fontana Village Resort and Marina

Fooshee Pass Campground

Fort Loudoun State Park

Fort Pillow

Friendship Marina

Frozen Head

Goat Island Campground, INC.

Gold Point Yacht Harbor

Gracepoint Church

Grand Harbor Marina

Greenlee Campground

Hamilton County Alternative Sentencing / Courts Community Service

Harpeth River

Harrison Bay

Henry Horton

Hiwassee Ocoee State Park

Hornsby Hollow Campground

Indian Mountain

Island Cove Marina

J.P. Coleman State Park

Jackson County Park & Marina

Jackson County Park Marina

Jay's Boat Dock

John Marks

Johnsonville State Historic Park

Kenlake State Resort Park

Kentucky Dam Village State Resort Park

Knoxville Utilities Board

Lake Barkley State Resort Park

Lake Blue Ridge Marina

Lake Guntersville State Park

Lake Guntersville State Park Campground

Lakeside Campground and Marina

Lakeview Cottages & Marina

Lakeview Cottages and Marina

Land Between the Lakes National Recreation Area

Lighthouse Landing Resort & Marina

Long Hunter

Louisville Landing Marina

Loyston Point Campground

Meeman-Shelby Forest

Missing Hill Resort

Montgomery Bell

Moore Enterprises

Mousetail Landing

Natchez Trace

Nathan Bedford

Nathan Bedford Forrest

New Johnsonville Harbor Campground & Marina

Newcombe Construction

Norris Dam

Ocoee Inn and Marina

Old Stone Fort

Panther Creek

Panther Creek

Paris Landing

Paris Landing State Park Marina

Perryville Marina

Pickett

Pickwick Landing

Pickwick Landing State Park Marina

Pickwick Wake

Pine Harbor

Pinson Mounds

Port Royal

Poteete Creek Campground

Primex Plastics

Radnor Lake

Red Clay

Reelfoot

Reelfoot Lake

River Sports Outfitters

Riverstone Marina

Riverview Campground

Roan Mountain

Roan Mountain

Rock Island

Rockwood Marina & RV Resort

Rocky Fork

Safe Harbor Aqua Yacht

Sergeant Alvin C York

Seven Islands

Shady Grove Harbor Marina

Skull Island Campground

South Cumberland

Sportsmans Marina

Standing Stone

Sullivan County Observation Knob Park

Sunrise Marina

Sunset Bay Resort & Marina

Sycamore Shoals

T.O. Fuller

Taylor’s Processing, LLC

Tennessee Aquarium/Imax Theater

The Ridges Marina

Tim Ford Marina

Tims Ford

TVA

TVA-6 / Pickwick Dam Campground

Twin Creeks Marina

Tyler Chase Ellison

Vista Recreation - Barton Springs Campground

Volkswagen Group of America

Volunteer Landing Marina

Warrior's Path

Watauga Dam Campground

Watauga Lakeshore Resort and Marina

Water's Edge RV Park & Marina

Wayne County Highway Beautification

Wayne county litter grant

Wheeler Lake Campground

Whitman Hollow Marina

Yarberry Campground

Zoo Knoxville