Step 1 - Smokers deposit their cigarette butts into ash trays, as normal.
Step 2 - When collecting butts from ash trays, we suggest you wear gloves.
Step 3 - Place the butts into the provided snap lock compostable bags.
Step 4 - Place the snap lock bag in the provided 30 litre black CigCycle bin.
Step 5 - Your friendly CigCycle contact will come by regularly to clean and empty the bin, as well as collect valuable data and provide additional bags if needed. If your bin is more than half full, feel free to scan the QR Code, or simply call us to arrange a quicker pick-up.
Step 6 - Your butts are picked up and transported to our partner, Fungi Solutions. At the Fungi Solutions warehouse, the butts are weighed and tubbed.
Step 8 - The plastic butts are hydrated and then introduced to the mycelium cultures in moulds. Further research is then carried out to measure the properties of the by-product.
Note: If the by-product is not suitable to use as a composite material for any recycled content programs, then it may be used for further research. Any excess butts may be landfilled. Whilst this is not a perfect solution, it will be a less toxic waste stream and exist for a shorter time in landfill than if it were not remediated.
In the environment, fungi naturally encounter the plant component cellulose.
After global research, No More Butts found a local social enterprise, Fungi Solutions, that had done some preliminary work on this topic. The founder had observed that fungi could be trained to digest the cellulose acetate microplastic of the cigarette filter.
The fungi begin their digestive process by putting out fine webs of mycelium, with the roots spreading through the cigarette butt. The mushrooms excrete digestive enzymes as they move through places and break down food sources externally before bringing the nutrients into their systems. At the end of the process, the mushrooms will have eaten the microplastics in the cigarette butts’ filters, leaving behind a material that can potentially be used to create other products.
The key is convincing oyster mushrooms that cigarette butts are edible. The fungi systems dismantle the hydrocarbon bonds of some toxic components in the butts and render them non-toxic. This leaves the undigested heavy metals such as zinc, copper and lead. Research is continuing into possible methods of harvesting and utilising these metals, in the quest for a perfect circular system, to develop a clean material by-product from the process and create a recycling stream for responsible disposal of cigarette butts.
Photo credit: Emily Medbury, Nicefilm.co
We acknowledge the Traditional Owners of Country throughout Australia and recognise their continuing connection to land, waters and culture. We recognise they have cared and maintained the beautiful environment for time immemorial. We would like to pay our respects to Elders past, present and emerging and extend that respect to all Indigenous communities.
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