Brantford’s Green Team is once again joining thousands of volunteers across Canada to participate in A Greener Future’s UNSMOKE Butt Blitz campaign, which runs from April 1 to 30, 2026.
A Greener Future is a Toronto-based non-profit organization that has hosted the month-long event since 2015. Over the past decade, volunteers have helped collect over 6.3 million cigarette butts from various cities and provinces across the country.
Karleigh Csordas, a Green Team volunteer, first discovered and participated in the campaign back in 2021, managing to pick up a total of 28,300 cigarette butts throughout the city alongside a group of like-minded people.
Since then, local volunteers have helped collect over 140,000 cigarette filters from the streets of Brantford.
Now in its fifth year, the Green Team is once again inviting the community to partake in the 2026 UNSMOKE Butt Blitz.
While the team’s big flagship event will take place at Harmony Square on Sunday, April 12, the group partnered with the Brantford Station Neighbourhood Association to kick things off at the Brantford General Hospital on Saturday, April 4.
In just two hours, 12 volunteers collected 7,275 cigarette butts (bringing their total over 148,350) from around the grounds of the hospital.
Jennifer Brooks, the Green Team’s logistics coordinator, said the month-long campaign helps the group accomplish two things.
“Our purpose in doing this is twofold. Firstly, we like to try to use these events as an opportunity to educate people about the problems with discarded cigarette butts; not only are they the most thrown away piece of litter, but they also hold a lot of toxins [such as arsenic, lead and nicotine] within the plastic of the filter,” she said. “The second thing is we’re also collecting the butts to have them recycled. I think a lot of people don’t realize that you can break the cigarette back down into its components, which include paper, unsmoked tobacco and the plastic components of the filter.”
At the end of the Butt Blitz campaign, the Green Team will send off its collection of cigarette butts to TerraCycle Canada (located in Ontario) to be recycled. From there, TerraCycle separates and composts the residual tobacco and paper, and the filter, which is made out of a synthetic fiber called cellulose acetate, is then cleaned, melted and processed into plastic pellets.
Brooks said the pellets are then used to make new items, things like park benches, picnic tables, fencing, decks, playground equipment and more.
According to A Greener Future’s website, the goal this year is to collect one-millions cigarette butts from across Canada, the amount needed to make a single park bench.
Those interested in getting involved are welcome to pick up littered cigarette butts either individually, or during the Green Team’s weekly cleanups. People who choose to collect the discarded filters on their own time are more than welcome to bring their collection and drop them off at one of the local butt blitz events.
“Our next three events are all taking place on Sundays for the rest of the month,” said Brooks. “The next event is at Harmony Square on April 12. After that is Lynden Park Mall on April 19, and the final event is at Elements Casino on April 26. The events take place from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m. and people are more than welcome to stay for the whole event or simply drop-in.”
If people are looking to attend one or all of the events, they should bring the following items:
- Gloves: reusable, gardening or disposable.
- Upcycled container: old jars, coffee canisters, yogurt tubs or whatever you have on hand.
- Weather appropriate clothing.
- Reusable water bottle to stay hydrated.
- Optional: a litter picker for ease. *The Green Team will have a few extra on-site.
“People can register when they arrive, but it’s helpful if they register in advance by going to agreenerfuture.ca and clicking on the event they want to attend,” said Brooks. “On that page, they’ll find the location details and meet-up area, as well as a spot where they can register.”
Upon arrival to the event, volunteers are asked to check-in with the Green Team. From there, they’ll receive various safety tips and instructions, and can start collecting.
When asked how she felt about being able to collect 7,300 cigarette butts at the first event alone, Brooks said it was a great example of what can happen when people work together.
“Unfortunately, that number means we’ve got a target-rich environment,” she said, “It’s sad that we’re pulling that many out of the environment, but I think it’s a great example of what can be done. With that being said, I think as a group we need to start presenting alternatives, things like having more butt stations around town or encouraging people to carry their own personal container for their butts. We’re not here to stop people from smoking or anything like that, we’re just here to encourage them to discard the butts properly and to pick them up if you see them.”
Kimberly De Jong’s reporting is funded by the Canadian government through its Local Journalism Initiative.The funding allows her to report rural and agricultural stories from Blandford-Blenheim and Brant County. Reach her at kimberly.dejong@brantbeacon.ca.
