Cedars of Lebanon Park Manager Jeff Buchanon poses with one of the cigarette receptacles provided by Keep the Tennessee River Beautiful in Middle Tenn.
Tennessee State Parks have taken a step to help prevent cigarette litter—and ultimately fire hazards—all while making a commitment for 32 campgrounds and three marinas to recycle the plastic from every cigarette butt collected.
Keep the Tennessee River Beautiful is providing Tennessee State Parks with 109 cigarette receptacles that feature art wraps with information about the consequences of cigarette litter in our waterways. The collected cigarette butts will then be shipped to a company called TerraCycle, who covers the shipping costs and recycles the plastic microfibers found in cigarette filters into new plastic items, such as outdoor furniture.
“To have 35 Tennessee State Park facilities lead in such an elaborate river stewardship effort is truly going to make an impact for the waterways in Tennessee,” said Kathleen Gibi, Executive Director for Keep the Tennessee River Beautiful (KTNRB). “Littered cigarettes are surprisingly prolific and harmful for our waterways, so the state parks’ commitment is a great step in protecting the Tennessee River and its tributaries for generations to come.”
A KTNRB receptacle installed at Norris Dam State Park in East Tenn.
In January 2019, CNN reported cigarette filters, which contain tightly compacted plastic fibers, to be the No. 1 plastic pollutant in the world. In Februay 2019, a German scientist named Dr. Andreas Fath reported a study that found the Tennessee River to have the highest levels of microplastics in any river in the world studied to date.
Furthermore, littered cigarettes that are inevitably washed into waterways have been known to contain toxins with the potential to kill aquatic life within two gallons of surrounding water.
In a preliminary count conducted by state park staff, the sites of these new receptacles were found to have 1,982 cigarette butts littered on the ground, just waiting to be washed into our waterways with the next rain. The hope is that, with this new infrastructure now available, visitors who smoke in state parks will properly dispose of their cigarettes.
Tennessee State Parks have marinas, boat launches, boat rentals, and guided boat tours on lakes, reservoirs, rivers, and streams throughout the state. More than 30 Tennessee State Parks offer camping opportunities.
“We are pleased to join Keep the Tennessee River Beautiful in such a worthy effort,” Jim Bryson, deputy commissioner of the Tennessee Department of Environment and Conservation (TDEC), said. “The river is an important natural resource for our state, and Tennessee State Parks are committed to help keep it that way.”
Ranger Aaron Schapley with a KTNRB cigarette receptacle at Nathan Bedford Forrest State Park in West Tenn.
This particular project with Tennessee State Parks and the Tennessee State Parks Conservancy was largely made possible through a $10,000 Cigarette Litter Prevention Program (CLPP) Grant from Keep America Beautiful® (KAB). In fact, the national organization has provided KTNRB with 500 receptacles that have been installed within the seven states of the Tennessee River watershed over the last two years. The receptacles are managed by marinas, campgrounds, and other tourism facilities.
According to Keep America Beautiful, communities implementing the CLPP have consistently cut cigarette butt litter by 50 percent over the past decade.
“The Cigarette Litter Prevention Program grants empower communities to help mitigate the economic, environmental, and quality-of-life impact of cigarette littering,” said Jerred Jones, program director for Keep America Beautiful’s CLPP.
Including the art wrap, each receptacle is valued around $115. KTNRB started the art-wrapped cigarette receptacles project while working with the Tennessee Valley Authority’s Tennessee Valley Clean Marina Program.
In 2019, TVA funding as well as a special litter grant from the Tennessee Department of Transportation covered the cost of the design and printing of the initial art wraps. TVA then connected KTNRB with the 200+ marinas, campgrounds, and resorts along the Tennessee River watershed.
Two grants and two years later, KTNRB’s program has only grown since then. The grant from KAB will also fund the distribution of 90 additional receptacles for new participating sites. Marinas, campgrounds and other destinations located within the Tennessee River watershed may submit requests for the free cigarette waste receptacles at www.KeepTNRiverBeautiful.org/cigarettelitter.
The Tennessee State Park facilities participating in the new program include:
T.O. Fuller
Pather Creek
Paris Landing
Reelfoot
Nathan Bedford"
Fort Pillow
Big Ridge
David Crockett Birthplace
Hiwassee
Cove Lake
Cedars of Lebanon
Bledsoe Creek
David Crockett
Tims Ford
Meeman Shelby'
Standing Stone
Norris Dam
Indian Mountain
Chickasaw
Pickwick Landing
Roan Mountain
Big Hill Pond
Warriors Path
Cumberland Mountain
Edgar Evins
Fall Creek Falls
Harrison Bay
Henry Horton
Montgomery Bell
Mousetail Landing
Natchez Trace
Old Stone Fort
Pickett
Rock Island
South Cumberland
“I knew we couldn’t pass up this opportunity based on my experience with Keep America Beautiful and Keep the Tennessee River Beautiful,” said Kelly Tipler, Executive Director of Tennessee State Parks Conservancy. “Both organization’s commitment to maintaining and preserving natural resources perfectly aligns with our mission, and we’re excited to have over 30 Tennessee State Parks participate in this program.”
For information on KTNRB’s ongoing efforts to preserve, improve and protect the river, visit www.KeepTNRiverBeautiful.org.