“HUM 1040 INDIAN SOCIAL PROBLEMS”

ASSIGNMENT REPORT

CIGARETTE WASTE MANAGEMENT

Submitted to
Prof. ALAN G.

By

ADITYA BALASUBRAMANIAN 16BEC1153

Slot: B1+TB1

(SENSE)

APRIL 2019
 Contents

I. Certificate ……………………………………………………..…….

II. Acknowledgment………………………………………………...…..

III. Abstract…………………………………………………………...….

IV. The problem………………………………………………………….

V. The solution……………………………………………………………

VI. My efforts at managing cigarette waste…………………………….

VII. References………………………………………………………………
 CERTIFICATE

This is to certify that the Assignment work titled “Cigarette waste management” that is being
submitted by “Aditya Balasubramanian(16BEC1153)”s for CAL in B.Tech Indian Social
Problems(HUM1040) is a record of bonafide work done under the supervision of Prof Alan
G... The contents of this Project work have not been submitted for any other CAL course.

Place : Chennai

Month: April 2019

 ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS

I wish to express my deep gratitude and sincere thanks to our teacher Prof. Alan G. for his
invaluable guidance, constant encouragement, constructive comments, sympathetic attitude
and immense motivation which has sustained our efforts at all stages of this project work.
His valuable advice and suggestions for the corrections, modifications and improvement did
enhance the perfection in performing this seminar.

I sincerely appreciate this magnanimity by taking me into their fold for which we shall
remain indebted to him.

Aditya Balasubramanian(16BEC1153)
 ABSTRACT

In this project I present case studies and statistics on some innovative ways that were used to
curb ‘unconventional waste’ like food waste and cigarette waste.
The trillions of cigarette butts generated each year throughout the world pose a significant
challenge for disposal regulations, primarily because there are millions of points of disposal,
along with the necessity to segregate, collect and dispose of the butts in a safe manner, and
cigarette butts are toxic, hazardous waste.
With the number of cigarettes being smoked annually increasing exponentially to is imperative
to find a solution to this problem.
1. Introduction:
Cigarette butts comprise an estimated 30% of the total litter (by count) along Indian
shorelines, waterways and on land reported that 80% of all marine debris originates
from land-based sources.
Typically, discarded cigarette butts consist of three components: unsmoked remnant
tobacco (including partially smoked/charred tobacco on the end), the filter of a
filtered cigarette and a paper wrap.
Each of these components of the discarded cigarette butt presents its own concerns.
About 99% of the manufactured cigarette market is filtered cigarettes; filters degrade
very slowly and thus become an accumulating mass of potentially toxic waste.

Toxic substances are leached from the filter and tobacco residue that pollute
waterways, and probably pollute ground water near landfills that are not properly
constructed to contain such leachates.
Aquatic life may be harmed by the toxic leachates, and the butts may cause physical
harm when ingested by animals.
Butts collect in municipal storm drains and then may empty into waterways, and can
clog storm drains and sanitary sewer systems
2. The Solution:
A Noida-based company is recycling cigarette waste right from the paper and filter to
ash and tobacco. Started by two friends in their twenties, the company is fighting a huge
environmental hazard

Vishal Kanet and Naman Gupta, residents of Noida, who, when attending a party at a
friend’s place, were shocked to see the number of cigarette butts left behind.

“We saw the real problem with cigarette waste for the first time about a year ago – none
of us were thinking about how to dispose the butts wisely,” says 22-year-old Naman.
The duo started researching about the problem and found that no organisation was
recycling cigarette waste in India.
“Many people here don’t even know that a cigarette filter is made of plastic and not
cotton. And when carelessly disposed of, it can remain in that form for years,” he added.

In July 2016, they launched Code – a company that offers a one-stop recycling solution
for cigarette waste. They regularly collect waste from their customers and recycle every
component of the remaining cigarette. And the best part is that customers can earn some
money in return for just collecting and handing over cigarette waste to them.

In the last three months, the company has collected over 100 kg of cigarette waste,
including ash, tobacco, paper, and the filter.
Breaking down their recycling plan, Naman explains that Code is a zero-waste
company.
So, every inch of the waste that comes in has to be recycled.
The paper covering the butt and some amount of tobacco that is often left behind with
it are organic waste components that are composted to produce manure.
Code offers a complete solution for every user with a structured service package.
Customers receive collection units called VBins, in which they can collect cigarette
waste, and a Code garbage collector comes in every 15 days to pick it up.
“We also get small amounts of ash in the waste. While we have been able to collect just
200 gm of ash till now, we plan to convert it into fly ash bricks once we have the
required quantity. As for the filter, we plan to use it for making the stuffing for toys and
cushions, other than packaging and building material. In the long run, we also plan to
research and use the filter for manufacturing air purifiers,” says Naman, adding that the
treated filter is 99.9% safe for use.
“We treat the filters with our chemicals and get the end product checked in labs
approved by the Bureau of Indian Standards (BIS) before it can be used as a stuffing
material.”

Customers have the option to select packages worth Rs 199 for a year or Rs 99 for three
months, in which they receive the bin and guaranteed pickup service every 15 days.
The bin is simply a stainless-steel cylindrical vessel used to make the collection easier.
With an office in Noida, Code currently serves over 70 people, 50 of whom are vendors.
They place the bins outside their shops and encourage buyers to dispose of cigarette
butts in them. A few corporate companies have also employed their services.
Once they have collected enough waste, Naman and Vishal will start selling these by-
products like manure and fly ash, which will help them take the idea forward.

According to reports, cigarette butts are the most littered item globally, with more than
100 billion cigarette butts being dumped in India every year. Just the city of Bengaluru
suffers from a burden of around 31 lakh littered cigarette butts every day.
3. My efforts at managing cigarette waste:

Studies show that most cigarette addicts start smoking in their college days. It is visible
in our college too where students often pay visits to shops that sell cigarettes along with
other eatables.
It is often seen that students seldom properly dispose of the cigarette waste they
generate by smoking. They tend to throw the butts along the roadside which either gets
accumulated in sewers or are consumed by stray dogs thereby choking them.
This is especially the case in summers when students tend to smoke close to the railings
of one such shop where there is an ample amount of air flow.
So, in order to urge the students to dispose the waste in a specified place, I helped the
shop owner build a rudimentary boundary just beside the railing especially for the
students to throw their ashed cigarettes in. This led to various benefits for the shop
owner as it saved a lot of time which was invested in cleaning up the mess that the
students left. This also reduced the number of stray dog deaths in the area.

The boundary that we helped create

Dogs unknowingly consume cigarette waste and it proves to be a choking hazard .

 4. REFERENCES:

https://www.thebetterindia.com/77701/cigarette-butt-recycling-noida/

www.ecoideaz.com/eco-news.../indian-youngsters-innovate-
recycling-cigarette-butts