Ecobutt

Billions of cigarettes are thrown on the ground every day. Toxic and carcinogenic substances from filters leach to ground water and soil ecosystems.

The EcoButt – Cigarette Waste Recycling project, seeks to recycle the waste and change the behaviour of smokers. The project creates an innovative infrastructure to educate society, with a focus on smokers, to encourage the recycling of cigarette waste into other materials.

In order to solve the cigarette waste problem, the project connects research-based academia (CVUT Praha, TUKE Kosice), the tobacco industry (because of the legislative obligations), and NGOs (e.g. Tidy-up Slovakia), with more than 30 partners in the private sector and cities.

In unison with the partners, the project seeks to collect as much cigarette waste as possible in order to minimise the impact on the environment. Every month, more than 300kg of cigarette waste is recycled through the project. This equates to more than 10 million cigarette butts not ending up on the ground.

The Ecobutt concept is transferable by its very nature. Currently in the pilot stage in Slovakia the project already seeks to expand to other EU countries in the following 2-3 years.