Indian factory upcycles cigarette ends
STORY: These Indian women are turning cigarette butts
WIPE
into stuffing for plush soft toys
The workers carefully separate the paper, tobacco, and filters from the stubs
The materials are then reprocessed into a range of products, such as toys and pillows
The project is the brainchild of businessman Naman Gupta
(Naman Gupta, Founder of Code Effort)
"We started from 10 grams and right now, we are doing 1,000 kg per day. So, we have come a long way and annually we are able to recycle millions of cigarette butts. Till 31st March 2022, we have already recycled more than 1.2 billion cigarette butts. So, our journey is a long way and we have just started and we have just done one percent of the total market. So, in the coming time period, we are expecting to recycle more than 300 tonnes per month."
In India, nearly 267 million people are tobacco users
according to the World Health Organization's estimates
Butts litter urban streets where general cleanliness standards are low