How to solve the cigarette filter of Australian scientists

The biodegradable cigarette filter is quite slow and takes years to completely decompose.

Recently, Australian scientists at RMIT have found a solution to treat trillions of cigarette filters thrown away each year, which are used to . build houses.

The addition of a cigarette filter to a clay brick making medium can help solve the problem of waste pollution and help save energy. Abbas Mohajerani, a senior lecturer at RMIT School of Engineering, shared: "I have always dreamed of finding sustainable and practical solutions to solve the problem of pollution from cigarette butts over many years."

Clay bricks with additional filter tips are also lighter, better insulated.

The biodegradable cigarette filter is quite slow and takes years to completely decompose. Heavy metals such as arsenic, chromium, nickel and cadmium can be absorbed from filters to soil and water.

About 6 trillion cigarettes are produced each year, creating 1.2 million tons of cigarette waste. These numbers are expected to increase by more than 50% by 2025, mainly due to the increase in world population.

In Australia, smokers use about 25-30 billion cigarettes filtered each year. In particular, the amount of waste generated is equivalent to about 7 billion cigarettes.

Mohajerani's team has shown that just adding a small amount of cigarette filters (1%) to the brick component can help reduce up to 58% of the energy needed to burn bricks.

Clay bricks with additional filter tips are also lighter, better insulated. That means reducing heating and cooling costs in the home.