PITTSFIELD, Mass. – Downtown Pittsfield now has cigarette disposal containers provided by Downtown Pittsfield Inc.

It's an effort to cut down on cigarette butts littering the ground. There were several around downtown on Monday. 

The waste containers made by waste management company TerraCycle will recycle them for new products.

“They take the cigarette butts themselves, the paper actually gets recycled down like any paper would, but the filters, which are made of plastic, they actually use to do stuffing for toy animals, padded envelopes for shipping and even things like outdoor furniture,” Managing Director of Downtown Pittsfield Inc. Rebecca Brien said.

This is a pilot program with six containers installed around the area. It was put out after Downtown Blooms, an initiative to have nature-inspired gardens throughout the city, noticed an abundance of cigarette butts when planting.