Staten Island Has a Warehouse Full of Cigarette Butts
Somewhere on Staten Island, there is a warehouse. Inside the warehouse, there are all the cigarette butts you could ever want! There's a company called EcoTech Displays that is collecting cig butts from all over the city, putting them in this warehouse, and trying to figure out a way to recycle them. 
And now a New York State Assemblyman is getting in on the act, introducing a bill that would require cigarette butts -- of which 1.5 million tons are produced in this city annually -- to be recycled in New York. Thing is, there's no way yet of recycling cigarettes. Enter EcoTech and their butt hoard.
Once there is a way to recycle cigarette butts, the non-biodegradable plastic from which they're made could be fashioned into fabric, clothing, insulation -- you name it. That would be pretty swell, depending on how smug you want to be. "My pants are made of organic cotton that I grew in my backyard, and my shirt is constructed entirely out of recycled Marlboro Lights." Then you can get on your fixie and ride into the night, yoga mat strapped to your back. Your yoga mat will be made out of recycled garbage bags. So will your shoes.
[Gothamist via NYDN]
[rgray@villagevoice.com] [@_rosiegray]
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