What if the waste that today litters sidewalks and parks could become part of our roads? Cigarette butts no longer have to end up only in ashtrays. The world’s first road made of recycled cigarette filters is in Slovakia.
Recycling waste into something usable is a significant part of environmental activities in the world. Chewing gum, small papers and cigarette butts are some of the most common waste on the streets, in parks and even in public flower pots. One solution is to recycle and reuse them. A Slovak has invented a way to turn cellulose acetate from cigarette filters into fibers added to asphalt mixtures.
Cigarette butts, although small, are among the most widespread pollutants. They are even the most widespread form of plastic waste in the world. About 4.5 trillion cigarette butts end up on the ground, in nature or in rivers every year. This represents about 75 percent of all cigarettes smoked, and just one butt can pollute up to 1,000 liters of water.
This waste is also most often found on beaches and makes up about 20 to 40 percent of all collected waste at sea. It poses a major problem for aquatic animals due to possible suffocation or death. Smaller fish can even die , while larger fish can suffer organ damage or not feel hungry after consumption, resulting in death. The harmfulness and toxicity to the aquatic environment has also been confirmed by research that analyzed the impact of cigarette butt extracts on aquatic species.
Cigarette butts pollute the environment not only aesthetically, but also with harmful substances. Source: pixabay.com
Fires can also cause damage, with fire department statistics showing that 16 percent of forest fires in France were caused by cigarette butts. Another example is the large fire in Spain in 2012, which burned 13,800 hectares and killed four people. Again, the cause was a carelessly discarded cigarette.
There’s nothing organic about cigarettes.
Although the white part of cigarette filters may look like cotton, they are actually made of plastic fibers (cellulose acetate). These take up to ten years to decompose in nature, and chemicals take even longer. Toxic compounds in cigarette butts include formaldehyde, nicotine, arsenic, lead, copper, chromium, cadmium, and various polyaromatic hydrocarbons.
But if we go back to the beginning, to the production of cigarettes, the tobacco industry is literally destroying the environment. Experts estimate that since the 1970s, 1.5 billion hectares of mainly tropical forests have been cut down due to the production of tobacco products. In addition, 22 billion tons of water are used to produce one gram of dried tobacco. At the same time, researchers pointed out that production represents 0.2 percent of total global carbon emissions, and growing green tobacco releases 84 million megatons of CO2. If we also include processing and transportation, this is a fifth of the CO2 produced by the entire commercial aviation industry.
Tobacco-growing countries are also a problem. They are often low-income areas where land and water are needed to produce food. But instead, tobacco is grown, which is increasingly causing deforestation. Experts have found that if the land used to grow about one ton of tobacco in Zimbabwe were used to grow potatoes, their yield would increase 19-fold.
Slovakia as a leader in the fight against cigarette butts
Acetyl cellulose fibers, which the Slovak company produces from cigarette butts and then adds to asphalt mixtures, can improve its properties. The fibers contribute to improving resistance to water penetration, thereby extending the life of the road, increasing strength and stability and reducing the risk of rutting. The company also offers municipalities the installation and subsequent collection of cigarette butt containers, their recycling and conversion into material.
A unique journey with recycled cigarette butts. Source: ziar.sk
The first city in the world to boast a road with an asphalt mixture with added cellulose acetate fibers from recycled cigarette filters is in Žiar nad Hronom in Slovakia. It was created in 2022, but the local governments do not plan to use the startup yet. According to the chairman of the Association of Towns and Municipalities of Slovakia (ZMOS), Jozef Božik, the problem is the increased financial and personnel capacities in local governments, which have not been quantified.
However, last year, ZMOS signed a memorandum of cooperation with SPAK-EKO as , a company representing manufacturers of tobacco products with filters. Its main goal is to create an effective and sustainable system of extended liability for manufacturers of tobacco products with filters and to reduce cigarette litter.
Similarly, the capital and the municipal company Waste Removal and Disposal (OLO) have been collecting cigarette butts at various events and festivals since last year. They have added cigarette filter containers to the classic waste containers. “We launched a pilot collection of cigarette butts during December at Christmas markets. If visitors to a festival, run, market or other city event throw a cigarette butt into a special container, they will contribute not only to a cleaner environment, but also to the material recovery of this type of waste,” said Martina Čechová, circular economy manager at OLO.
Slovakia is thus at the forefront of ecological innovation with its approach to the collection and subsequent transformation of toxic waste, which cigarette butts undoubtedly are. This step not only reduces the environmental burden, but also opens up space for new business opportunities. The question remains how many cities will commit to such projects and, in addition to collecting cigarette butts, will they also further valorize and use them.
It is being fought on multiple fronts.
The efforts of local governments and companies to collect and recycle tobacco products are not unique in the world. Cities are trying to set up collection containers, for example in the form of voting for a favorite sports team or singer. Experts point to the possibility of introducing extended producer responsibility systems that transfer the burden of remediation to the producer, not the consumer. An environmental tax on tobacco products may also be a solution. However, the best solution is to reduce waste by reducing cigarette consumption.
Interesting ashtrays encourage the collection of cigarette butts. Source: University of Liverpool
The European Union has been working to combat the top ten types of litter on European beaches, including cigarette butts, since 2018. The directive aims to phase out unnecessary single-use plastics. However, experts warn that tobacco regulations need to be strengthened through extended producer responsibility, along with the integration of WHO Framework Convention on Tobacco Control guidelines.
Environmental protection requires not only technological innovations or legislative changes, but also a change in society’s thinking. Recycling cigarette butts is just one step that shows that even small amounts of waste can have a big impact, whether negative if we leave it in nature or positive if we can use it meaningfully. If we can think about what we do with a cigarette butt after smoking, we are taking the first step towards a cleaner city, country and planet.