From stubs to soft toys, Indian factory upcycles cigarette ends
With nearly 267 million smokers in India according to World Health Organisation estimates, cigarette butts are frequently seen mixed in with garbage on the streets of New Delhi.
For businessman Naman Gupta, the trash is his treasure and he’s created a business upcycling the waste to create stuffing for plush toys, among other things.
Gupta’s company, Code Effort, collects more than a thousand kilograms of cigarette stubs from the streets each day.
“Whatever materials we collect, we process and recycle all the cigarette waste here at our factory,” Gupta told Reuters from his factory in the northern city of Noida.
“From the paper, we make recycled paper products; from tobacco, we make compost powder; and from the filters, we make beautiful products such as soft toys, cushions and many more,” he added.
Sitting on the ground near the factory, women smile and chat as they carefully separate the paper, tobacco, and filters from the stubs, before the three materials are processed.
“We started from 10 grams [of fibre] and right now we are doing 1,000kg per day. We have come a long way and annually we are able to recycle millions of cigarette butts,” Gupta said.
Poonam, a worker in Gupta’s factory who gave only her first name, told Reuters Gupta’s business venture served dual purposes for people like her.
“We work here as it helps to keep our environment clean and we can also earn some extra money for our expenses,” she said.
Reuters
