Dont through away those cigarette butts, they can be made into something useful. A Chilean designer started a project of recycling cigarette butts into clothes. Lets have a look. Researchers say that in 2008, some 4.5 trillion cigarettes were stubbed out all over the world. Collectively, that’s like a mountain of cigarette butts. Chilean fashion student, Alexandra Guerrero was horrified by the number, so much so that she decided to take a stand. She created the The Mantis project, aimed at ridding her beachside town near Santiago of cigarette butts so that they can be turned into clothing. The focus of the project is two-fold: to generate awareness about the importance of recycling and related environmental issues, and to make something useful from the discarded cigarettes. [Ricardo Riquelme, Collaborator]: (Male Spanish soundbite) “A gesture as basic as not throwing the butts on the ground is a contribution to the planet, and this is the mission of Mantis, to create a consciousness in people to keep the butt, because it is useful. Why contaminate, when it is much better to transform it into something useful?” After the butts are collected, they are purified in sterilized water and solvent. Then they are dried, separated and turned into fabric. This removes all of the nicotine and other toxins that would be otherwise seep into drains and waterways. [Alexandra Guerrero, Project Creator]: (Spanish female soundbite) “The entire process has been done under a study of …
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