Translated material
Tobacco cupchers have found useful use
Cigarette butts are the most common type of plastic garbage on the planet. According to the World Health Organization, annually people throw about 4.5 trillion cigarette filters, and, according to the National Geographic calculations, only a third of them are in the urns. The Brothers Numan and Vipul Gupta from India created a unique technology for processing this toxic garbage into soft toys. In six years, they managed to build a multimillion -dollar company, help solve an environmental problem and attract hundreds of unemployed women to their business. Indian fairy tale - in the material "Cold".
Two brothers from India processed billions of cigarettes and made a fortune
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For the first time, Gupta thought about the problem of cigarette waste in 2015 while studying at the university. According to him, the cigarette butts caught his eye everywhere: on the sidewalks, in the parks, at the stops. This problem was acute not only in the metropolitan region, but throughout the country. They almost did not fight her: there were neither norms nor infrastructure for the disposal of cigarette butts.
According to the World Health Organization (WHO), in India there are about 75 million adult smokers. In the years in 2021–2022, they threw about 100 billion cigarette butts.
“I was shocked that no one still talks about this largest artificially created pollutant of the planet,” says Gupta.
He began to investigate how cigarette butts affect the environment, and quickly found out: cigarette filters almost completely consist of cellulose acetate - plastic, which decomposes up to 14 years. As a result, Naman had an idea to start processing cigarette waste, which he told the older brother - engineer Vipula Gupte.
“When he said that he wanted to fight the environmental crisis by processing the cigarette butts, I immediately believed in him and his mission. His determination inspired me, ”Vipul recalled . Together they began to develop a system that would allow to process all the components of cigarette debris - from filters to paper and tobacco residues.
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On September 25, 2018, the brothers founded Code Effort (Code deciphens as “To Conserve Our Depleting Environment”, translated from English - “To preserve our exhausting environment”). The vipil took over the technical part: he picked up the equipment, helped to arrange a laboratory, found chemical components for processing and organized the process itself.
However, it was important for brothers not just to dispose of waste, but to give them a new life. So there was an idea to create different products from recycled cigarette butts: soft toys, pillows, paper and even a mosquito remedy. They invested about one and a half to two million rupees in the launch of the project (almost one and a half to two million rubles).
Tons of cigarette butts
One of the main difficulties for the company was to collect cigarette waste - in public places of India there are almost no special URN for smokers, and the cigarette butts themselves are difficult to separate from the rest of the garbage. Because of this, the startup had to attract ordinary cleaners to work.
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In the early days, it was possible to process only 10 grams of cigarette butts - about 30–40 pieces. However, the turnover gradually grew : already in June 2022, more than two thousand people out of more than 250 districts participated in the collection of garbage, gathering daily to tons of cigarette waste.
About 2% of the cigarette butts of India manage to process the Gupta brothers
In parallel with this, the brothers began to develop urban infrastructure to collect cigarette butts and engage in the education of the population. Together with experts, they developed special urns called V BINS - containers resistant to fire and moisture intended exclusively for cigarette waste.
“We place V BINS in places where they smoke most often: near tobacco kiosks, in offices, trade and business centers-in specially designated areas to collect waste right at the source,” Naman explains .
The company has installed more than 200 thousand URN V BINS throughout the country. The brothers relied on large cities: Delhi, Gurgaon, Noya. At the same time, the company offers to purchase urns and residents of other regions. “Now we are processing six to seven million cigarette butts daily,” says Naman. “But this is still only about 2% of the total volume of cigarette waste in the country.”
Plush bears and mosquito remedies
According to the creators of Code Effort, they a second time use all three main components of cigarette garbage: paper, tobacco and plastic. The processing of cigarette butts begins with manual sorting: company employees divide them daily into components and distribute them into categories.
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“We have ISO 90001, 140001 and GRS certificates, confirming that our products meet state standards of security, quality and environmental friendliness. In addition, we have ISO 450001, showing that we can ensure the safety of employees directly working with cigarette butts, ” says Naman.
From tobacco and ash, the company produces compost, which is transmitted to nearby nurseries. The paper is turned into a paper mass from which sheets, bags and envelopes are made . In addition, part of the processed paper is used to create a product from mosquitoes in the form of plates - paper rectangles impregnated with poison. When such plates are heated, the poison evaporates, and its steam in the air kills insects.
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Plastic fiber is processed using patented technology. It is crushed , turning into loose mass, and then processed chemically - this stage takes about a day. After that, the fiber is washed , dried in special machines and sent to carding . The result is a smooth, soft and light fiber suitable for stuffing soft toys and pillows.
Cigarette butts give independence
It was the plush bears stuffed with redesigned fiber that quickly became a recognizable Code Effort symbol. Manufacturers say that toys are absolutely safe for children, since the processing process has passed all the necessary laboratory tests.
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In addition to the concern for the environment, the startup is engaged in the employment of women from the Gupta brothers’s native region. It is they who sew all the soft toys of the company that go on sale. Numan and vipl organized training for women and bought everything they need: sewing machines, needles, threads and other equipment.
According to Naman, today more than a hundred craftswomen from the village of Nangli are working in the company, where production is located. Many women were engaged in sewing at home, but for a long time could not go to work.
One of them is the 35-year-old housewife Punne Chauhan. According to her, she has been engaged in needlework for more than 10 years, but earlier she had only for the family. “In our culture, it is not accepted that women work outside the house. I bought a small sewing machine and studied sewing in video tutorials, ”she says .
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Chauhan’s life changed when in 2019 Code Effort opened a factory in her village. “They suggested that I do toys for them, bought all the materials and taught me how to sew products of the right quality and size. Previously, my earnings amounted to only 20 rupees per day, and now it has grown to a thousand (about a thousand rubles. - approx. Cold) . This business gave me not only financial independence, but also respect and recognition, ”Chauhan added.
Millions from the ashes
The startup managed to attract the attention of large players of the local market - their products are used by famous Indian brands: Reliance Retail and Nesta Toys. Code Effort prefers to work with large companies, avoiding retail customers, since cooperation with large brands is a guarantee of large orders and stability for Code Effort. After the design of the design, sizes and technical characteristics, these parameters remain unchanged for a long period of production.
By 2025, Code Effort, according to the founders of the startup, had already processed more than two billion cigarette butts. The company was included in the book of Limca records and the India record book - Indian analogues of the Guinness Book of Records, as well as the World Wide and International Books of Records - less well -known international achievements.
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Code Effort does not reveal its financial data, which is why it is difficult to evaluate its economic situation. However, according to some reports, in 2022–2023, its revenue amounted to 989 thousand rupees (about a million rubles). Since 2022, according to the founders, the company has been profitable and has been developing without involving third -party capital. According to the Tofler financial portal, the company's net profit in 2023–2024 increased by 7124%.
According to Naman, the brothers are going to scale production. “We transferred our technology to neighboring countries - Malaysia, Nepal and Bangladesh. We want to expand our activities and go to the global level, as this is a global problem, ”he says. By 2030, the company plans to process up to 400-500 tons of cigarette butts per month. In addition, the Gupta brothers want to expand the assortment by adding products for pets and air purifiers to it, as well as launch their own brand of accessories for the house of the Decor Earth Private Limited.
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Photo: Anuj Ramatri / YouTube Author: Lola Temirova