We know smoking is injurious to health, but are we aware of the cigarette butts which are thrown? – No, the awareness regarding this is significantly less.
According to WHO, India is contributing around 12% of world smokers, and 10 million people die because of tobacco each year. Globally it is found that 4.5 trillion butts are disposed off, which harm the environment. These butts are top plastic polluters as they are made of cellulose acetate, which is a plastic fibre & chemicals like nicotine and other heavy metals. When these butts take a long time to dispose of which leads to infertility of soil or if the animals consume it in land or water, it is hazardous for them.
For this significant problem, the team of Researcher from The School of Engineering at the Royal Melbourne Institute of Technology have come up with a beautiful solution.
In a previous analysis, the team proved that the bricks with 1% recycled cigarette butt results in intense and less energy-consuming bricks than standard bricks. They also stated that the total cigarette produced in a year can be recycled if 1% of cigarette butts are used in 2.5% of global annual brick production.
In the recent report, the team drafted a detailed plan to bring both the brick making and waste management industries together to manufacture bricks using recycled cigarette butts at a mass scale.
According to Mr Abbs Mohajerani – associate professor and lead researcher state that:
Firing butts into bricks is the best way to control the toxic environmental problem caused by the cigarette butts
Using the cigarette butts in bricks reduced the production cost. By this industry plan, it is practically possible to achieve our vision to reality and this process is a significant financial saving
The research paper published has also drafted various other methods of using whole, pre-shredded butts or pre-mix where the butts are mixed with other materials which are used in brickmaking.
This research and practise will lead to a sustainable environment, and it will significantly reduce the toxic substance evolving the environment.
Written by: Angeline Sylvia
References: https://thelogicalindian.com/sustainability/cigarette-butts-recycled-into-bricks-23912
https://www.mdpi.com/1996-1944/13/18/4023/htm