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Tallinn Strategic Management Office, in cooperation with Filaret Ltd., has installed 80 special trash bins in the city’s coastal areas to prevent cigarette butts from ending up in the sea and to collect valuable material for recycling.

Every year, tens of tons of cigarette filters end up in nature, and these non-biodegradable filters contain toxic substances that eventually make their way into humans through marine life. A single cigarette butt can poison up to 1000 liters of water, and these toxins can harm aquatic ecosystems for up to ten years. Last year, as a pilot project, 20 special trash bins were installed in North Tallinn’s beach areas to prevent cigarette butts from entering the sea, and within just two months, nearly 11,000 cigarette butts were collected.

“Although last autumn we tested the cigarette butt bins as part of a pilot project, they are now being permanently placed in their designated locations. The most environmentally and health-friendly option is not to smoke at all. Nevertheless, there are smokers, and it’s important that cigarette butts are not littered but are disposed of in designated trash or collection bins. The new cigarette butt bins have been placed specifically in coastal areas to reduce marine litter,” said Deputy Mayor Joosep Vimm.

The locations for the cigarette butt bins were selected by the Tallinn Strategic Management Office in cooperation with the district governments of North Tallinn, City Center, Pirita, and Haabersti. These bins are situated along the Pirita pedestrian path and Tiskre Stream, Pirita promenade, around Tallinn City Hall, on Aegna island, Kalaranna beach, as well as Pikakari, Stroomi, and Kakumäe beaches (see map). The bins will be emptied by Tallinn Waste Center, whose partner Filaret Ltd. processes the collected cigarette butts into environmentally friendly compostable 3D printing material, thus reducing plastic waste.

According to Rein Kalle, Director of Tallinn Waste Center, cigarette butts can now be brought for free to all Tallinn waste stations, and Filaret’s small collection point is now available at Paljassaare waste station. “We are pleased to contribute to every good initiative towards a circular economy. In this way, we will be emptying the collection bins and providing Filaret with cigarette butts for recycling,” said Kalle.

“We are building a network for collecting cigarette butts, so it’s a great pleasure that after a successful pilot project, we have had the opportunity to cooperate with the Tallinn Strategic Management Office to install Filaret’s cigarette butt bins more widely across the city. The pollution of cigarette butts near water areas causes the most harm to nature, which is why it is very positive that our cigarette butt bins have been distributed near the coastline,” added Ines-Issa Villido, CEO of Filaret Ltd.

Filaret Ltd. is a company following circular economy principles, and their cigarette butt collection service is one-of-a-kind. Cigarette waste is collected from streets and natural areas to be then recycled. Filaret also collaborates with the Port of Tallinn.

One of the objectives of the Tallinn Waste Plan 2022-2026 is to implement solutions that prevent and collect marine litter, including the installation of cigarette butt bins in coastal areas. This initiative also supports Tallinn’s goals as the European Green Capital 2023.