Cigarette smoking is harmful to health, and so are the cigarette butts dumped all over the place, creating pollution. They are not only a source of harm to people but animals too.
A man from Punjab noted this. To fix it, he has devised a way to reuse the filters and make something creative out of them.
Twinkle Kumar, a Mohali-based entrepreneur, has set up a unit to recycle cigarette butts into toys, cushions and mosquito repellents, and other items.
Amid the coronavirus lockdown, Kumar lost his job last year. But did not lose hope. He started searching Youtube videos to do something creative and new, and that’s when he chanced upon cigarette recycling.
Also, read: This Young Entrepreneur Upcycles Scrap Tyres To Make Sustainable And Fashionable Footwear
“I got to know about the concept of cigarette recycling, and it intrigued me. I approached the company that was already doing this and learned the process. After that, I started my business in Mohali,” Kumar told ANI.
Punjab: Mohali-based entrepreneur Twinkle Kumar is recycling cigarette butts into toys, cushions, and mosquito repellants. “We have installed bins at commercial spaces with smoking zones to collect cigarette butts which are processed and converted into useful things,” he says pic.twitter.com/qMaIjmnXYz
— ANI (@ANI) September 8, 2021
Apart from some missteps initially, the response to these items has been good from the locals. He has also employed local women and engaged them in collecting, processing, and converting butts.
Kumar and his workers have installed bins at most public spaces with smoking zones to collect the basic ‘raw’ materials or the cigarette butts.
“We are collecting the butts by installing collecting bins at all smoking zones in public places across the city. We request the smokers to discard the butts at the collection boxes we installed. We then process and clean the butts chemically and remove the toxic components from them, after that they are used for toys, cushions, and mosquito repellents. This way, they not only help us but also help in reducing the environmental pollution,” he said.
It takes about ten years for a cigarette butt to degrade as it is made of cellulose acetate, one of the earliest synthetic fibers. Dumping it on roads and drains not only causes waste accumulation, but the nicotine from it also causes pollution.