Project description

Castello del Nero began collaborating with Re-Cig®, an innovative start-up that has been working in the world of the circular economy since 2016. Re-Cig recovers and recycles cigarette filters, to transforming them into plastic material used for producing small objects. Re-Cig's goal was to develop a business that could combine environmental and economic sustainability, as well as to disseminate and promote a new culture regarding the issues of recycling and recovery of this polluting waste.

• more than 7 million butts collected through our project
• 850 thousand tons of abandoned butts per year
• 200 toxic substances contained in filters, at least 70 of which are carcinogenic
• 40% of the waste in the Mediterranean is butts
• 2 years the minimum time it takes for the filter to degrade in nature

In just one year of operation, Re-cig has given new life to two million cigarette butts, which have become everyday objects such as eyeglass frames and umbrella handles.

The project with Castello del Nero involved the installation of Smokers Points, which are handcrafted and emptied periodically. Collection activities are monitored and the quantities of recovered filters are recorded. Once subjected to a purification process they will be transformed into a plastic polymer used in a variety of sectors.