Greenbutts cigarette filters sprout flowers when planted

Let’s start by saying AdvEarth doesn’t condone any form of smoking – they’re all bad for you. But we recognize that millions of people do, and it’s not just the extra cost on the community for smoking-related illnesses that irks most non-smokers, it’s also the trillions of cigarette butts that end up littering our sidewalks, roadways, parks, etc., many of which end up in our waterways. Greenbutts wants to tackle the problem with a 100 percent biodegradable cigarette filter... with extra benefits. The manufacturers say when a green butt is placed under a thin layer of soil it sprouts into green grass shoots or even blooming flowers.

Currently, cigarette filters are made from cellulose acetate and although technically they are biodegradable, this can take as along as 10-15 years in certain environmental conditions. Greenbutts says it is estimated that 4.5 trillion cigarette butts become litter every year and back in 2006, during the International Coastal Cleanup, cigarettes and cigarette butts constituted 24.7 percent of the total collected pieces of garbage, over twice as much as any other category. It’s not just the physical filters that are the problem because as they break down, the filtered cellulose acetate and carbon particles, suspected of causing harm in humans, can leach into our waterways and water supplies.

Greenbutts says its new filter is manufactured from 100 percent all-natural and compostable materials - organic cotton and natural de-gummed hemp. Wheat flour and pure water bind the filter elements as they are spun together. No chemicals or hidden additives are used.

The company encourages users to collect their green butts in a planter instead of an ashtray and watch them grow into green grass shoots or flowers... we're not quite sure exactly what sort of flowers. It also says that if you use its filters with additive-free tobacco you can have a true "all-natural cigarette".

Greenbutts is currently seeking investment and partnership opportunities so no word on availability or pricing yet.

But if you really want an all-natural feeling, we suggest steering clear of cigarettes and tobacco products altogether. Need help quitting?