E-cigarette Recycling Initiative Shows Impact in Missouri School District

According to a report by KY3 on December 21, the e-cigarette collection boxes installed within the school district in Greene County, Missouri, are making an impact.

As the number of teenage smokers continues to rise, schools in the region have installed recycling bins by the end of 2021. Jessica Daugherty, the Program Director of the Ozark Community Partnership Organization's Prevention and Youth Support Department in Greene County, has stated that although smoking remains prevalent among students, there has been an improvement since the installation of these recycling bins.

Dorty stated, "Last academic year, we collected a total of 734 discarded e-cigarette devices in the recycling bins." She also mentioned that despite the effectiveness of the recycling bins, the issue of youth smoking still persists.

Dowdy introduced the background of the e-cigarette recycling bin initiative. Led by the Greene County Tobacco and E-cigarette Prevention Alliance, the recycling bin effort is undertaken by a local organization group dedicated to tobacco use prevention.

Dorthy also stated that there is a quit-smoking hotline on each box where they can anonymously track students' smoking data. She mentioned that the community aims to handle e-cigarette waste in the most environmentally friendly manner.

We have partnered with local pharmacies and computer recycling centers because the battery components in these e-cigarettes cannot be disposed of indiscriminately. It is harmful to our landfills and waterways, posing a public health and environmental concern," said Daolty.