Indian Youngsters Innovate On Recycling Cigarette Butts

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Recycling-Cigarette-Butts
Image Courtesy – Hindustantimes.com

Cigarette butts can now be recycled in India instead of adding to waste pile-up and environmental degradation. Two youngsters named Naman Gupta and Vishal Kanet noticed large number of spent cigarette butts leftover after weekend parties and decided to form a startup named ‘CODE’ to recycle them. Studies have shown that cigarette butts are the most discarded waste around the world, with about 5.6 trillion cigarettes are sold each year out of which half are discarded. Just the city of Bengaluru suffers a burden of 3.1 million cigarette butts.

Under the CODE initiative, members are provided with steel garbage bins worth INR99 for 3 months or INR499 for 5 years. Cigarette butts are put in these bins, which are then collected every 15 days. Members are paid INR800 for collecting each kilogram of cigarette waste. CODE started its initiative in mid-2016 and has about 70 members in Noida. The collected waste is then taken for recycling, where chemicals are added to tobacco and paper to convert them to compost. Similarly, after the cigarette ash is collected in huge quantities, it is used to make fly ash bricks. About 1 ton of ash is required to convert it to bricks. The filter is cleaned and reused, however CODE aims to make air filters using the filter material.

The duo has collected about 10 kg of waste till now, which would otherwise clog the drains and add to water and air pollution. Collecting this waste actually helps to curb down smoking as at the end of the day, people can see in their bins how much they have smoked and it increases self-awareness about smoking as well.

Date – 17-12-2016 | Source – http://www.hindustantimes.com

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Ecoideaz is hell bent on proving that sensible green ideas do emerge from India. It is eager to build a comprehensive portfolio of all eco-friendly ideas developed in India and create a repository for innovative green ideas both from the investor and consumer perspective.

50 COMMENTS

    • We are actually from the Mumbai-thane region. so looking for providing the wastage from here. We want to contact you as you guys are fantastic and we are looking forward for making relations of dealership to handover the cigarette waste from our areas.

  1. We are actually from the middle east country.so looking for providing the wastage from here..we have no idea.how to approach u so if u can c the comment ..contact us v r looking for the dealership to handover the ciggarate waste.

  2. I am living in nellore city in Andrapradesh.
    I want to join in your team
    If possible giving a chance

  3. Great idea. One question. How do you treat the polluting waste water generated from the cleaning of the cigarette filters? Thanks!

  4. We are actually from the andhra pradesh. so looking for providing the wastage from here. we have no idea how to approach u so if u can c the comment and contact us v r looking for the dealership to handover the ciggarate waste. I am also part this great recycling group.

    • Hi Kumar,
      It is great to see your efforts in waste collection. transporting cigarette waste to the unit in Delhi will be difficult. what are the other types of waste you collect and what do you do with it?

  5. Hi,
    Can i have your contact number to join with you & get more input about this.
    My Name is saravanan & mobile 9790032611.

    • Hello, rohit bhai am from Hyderabad and I want to be a part of u. U call me, we can increase ur top and helpful for india business I will Coriar you butts week by week from Hyderabad

  6. Bro m from mumbai … Even i want to join code and only i need is yours support… Your concept will provide an employment to beggars which will do job expect begging … And to create a begger free country!

    • Hi Manish, thanks for your enthusiasm. we will surely pass your message to the innovators

  7. hello
    I am a law student and I am working on a similar idea and writing a paper on this issue .I want to talk to you people regarding your methodology and end result. How can I contact you?

  8. We are from Mumbai-thane region. Looking for providing the wastage from here. We want to contact you as you guys Are fantastic and we are looking forward for making relations of dealership to handover the cigarette waste from are areas.

  9. We are actually from the Kolhapur .so looking for providing the wastage from here. We want to contact you as you guys are fantastic and we are looking forward for making relations of dealership to handover the cigarette waste from our areas.

  10. This is Dr togiti gurubrahmam, warangal, telangana state, please send me your mobile number and whatsapp numbers, I want to meet you personally, and send me address location also, I am very much impressed,

  11. I LIKE TO SAVE MY MOTHER NATURE HELP IAM FROM BANGALORE I LIKE TO KEEP MY SURROUNDING CLEAN . WE CONNECTED WITH NATURE ALL JOIN HANDS WE BUILD TOGETHER

  12. We are actually from the North Maharshtra region. so looking for providing the wastage from here. We want to contact you as you guys are fantastic and we are looking forward for making relations of dealership to handover the cigarette waste from our areas. Contact me

  13. I am currently studying in Davangere, Karnataka.
    Our hostels are huge source of suchcugarette butts.
    The entire town has a huge student crowd, please let me join the initiative.
    It hurts my heart to see such toxic waste.

  14. Hello, My name is He Yalin from China. I hope to provide you with raw materials through export foreign trade.

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