Clipping of news on Brazilian Culture, Law and Citizenship
12/5/2016
This article was translated by an automatic translation system, and was therefore not reviewed by people.
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Biologist Barbara Sales, 26, has been developing research to turn cigarette butts into cup holders. She presented her work during the 7th ExpoCatadores in Belo Horizonte. The event, organized by the National Movement of Collectors of Recyclable Materials (MNCR), began on the 28th and ended on the 30th.
Currently working as an environmental educator at the Instituto Inhotim, Bárbara began her study as a final year project at the Newton Paiva University Center. She manually collected the socks through the streets of the capital of Minas Gerais and also made available a sink in some bars, where smokers could dispose of the rest of the cigarette after consumption.
By means of tests and bibliographic review, the biologist established a recycling process. "I left the sauce butts in a chemical component for about seven days, then the material was subjected to a 200-degree baking and turned into a dough, then there is a process to make the particles more homogeneous, The making of the cup holder, "he explains.
According to a survey by the Tobacco Atlas publication of the World Health Organization (WHO), about 5.8 trillion cigarettes were consumed worldwide in 2014. Brazil is billed as the largest Latin American market for the product. Given this scenario, Barbara's goal is to promote the environmental awareness of smokers. "If the pubs and restaurants offer a product made from the rest of the cigarette it consumes, this audience can become aware of it and stop playing the butts in the Streets inadequately. "
Still without sponsorship for the research, Barbara has the support of the Newton Paiva University Center, which lends her the laboratories even though she has already graduated. His research is now entering the phase of chemical analysis to see if there are still toxins in the cup holder and how to remove them. It is also testing other reagents to reach a final product with more strength and absorption capacity. The expectation is that the cup holder may in the future become a commodity and be marketed with the bars.
The initiative to recycle butts is not unprecedented in Brazil. At the Institute of Arts of the University of Brasília (UnB), there is already a research with results that aim to transform cigarette waste into paper and, consequently, into cards, party invitations and other stationery products. The project obtained the partnership of an entrepreneur from the city of Votorantim (SP) that opened, in March of this year, a plant in the city of São Paulo for the recycling of butts.
Rede Papel Bituca, managed by the SOS Institute - Organized Systems for Sustainability - operates in the city of São Paulo and also transforms the rest of the cigarette into paper. The initiative also develops awareness actions for correct disposal at shows. According to estimates by the Papel Bituca Network, about 34 million bituca are discarded daily on the streets of Greater São Paulo. Each would take an average of four years to decompose, generating environmental problems in metropolises, forests and fields.
Edition: Grace Adjut
Source: Agência Brasil
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This article was translated by an automatic translation system, and was therefore not reviewed by people.