Zéro Mégot
Mamer: a “Zero Cigarette Butt” municipality
Cigarette butts are the most commonly littered item in the world (8 million per second!). Their plastic composition and the thousands of toxic substances they contain make them a scourge on our ecosystem. A single cigarette butt takes 15 years to decompose in the natural environment and can pollute up to 500 liters of water.
It’s time to take action!
MéGO! is a service that sorts and recycles cigarette butts (used filters) for businesses, organizations, and local governments. MéGO!’s goal is to establish a dynamic collection system for cigarette butts. MéGO! manages the entire circular recycling process, including the transformation of cigarette butts into street furniture (ashtrays, containers), and also provides statistical tracking and a carbon footprint assessment of its operations.
The goal is to implement a collaborative approach that will reduce our carbon footprint, raise awareness among residents, visitors, and employees, and communicate your
commitment.
Cigarette butts are then recycled to create a new resource: PlastiGO! This material is used to create street furniture for smoking areas. The material is inert and is made available through a deposit-return system so it can be recycled indefinitely, fully aligning with a circular economy approach.
Mamer becomes “Zéro Mégot”
The “Zéro Mégot” project in our municipality is a response to :
- the desire to implement a responsible and sustainable solution to avoid the pollution caused by cigarette butts (as a reminder, 1 single cigarette butt pollutes 500 litres of water)
- a safety issue, since the risk of fire is greatly reduced by the installation of safe, visible ashtrays and the awareness campaign
- a cleanliness issue, since the areas used by smokers are generally the busiest and, by the same token, the image of your local authority.
The “Zero Cigarette Butts” project is fully aligned with a Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) approach and is an important component of the environmental pillar. Finally, the “Zero Cigarette Butt” project effectively combats the littering of cigarette butts. It helps change smokers’ behavior because, by informing them about recycling, they see the value in placing their cigarette butt in an ashtray rather than throwing it on the ground.
About 20 public ashtrays have been installed throughout the municipality. Prior to this, the Luxembourg-based company behind the MéGO! initiative had conducted an audit in collaboration with the municipality’s Department of Environment, Energy, and Mobility (SEEM) to assess the need for cigarette butt collection equipment. Subsequently, ashtrays were installed in Mamer, Capellen, and soon in Holzem. These ashtrays are accompanied by ground markings designed to increase their visibility and highlight the municipality’s commitment to the environment. The ashtrays will be emptied by the Technical Department of the municipality of Mamer. Cigarette butts will be stored in drums rented from the company, which will collect them every two months and transport them to the recycling plant.
Mamer has also acquired several mobile ashtrays with a capacity of five or nine litres, which can be used at community events (markets, fairs, etc.).
In March 2022, our municipality also officially became the first municipality in the Grand Duchy to install a drop-off station for cigarette butts. It was set up near the recycling center (Route de Dippach) in Mamer. Residents now have a place to dispose of cigarette butts smoked at home or picked up in public spaces. The cigarette butts collected in this bin will also be decontaminated and recycled into street furniture. This initiative complements the “Zero Cigarette Butt” project, which has been in place since June 2021 and is carried out in partnership with the company shime.
The results of the “Zéro Mégot” system are impressive. Between June 2021 and March 2022:
- 700 m3 of unpolluted water
- 100 kg of CO2 saved compared with incineration
- 0.48 MWH of energy saved