Nirit Datta is a former IT professional who founded Buttrush in 2021 to collect and recycle cigarette butts.
Cigarette butts are a common sight lying on the side of the road and Goa native Nirit Datta felt an urge to do something about it. Thus Buttrush was born.
Described as the first environmental movement against cigarette butt pollution, Buttrush was founded last year by Nirit who left his IT job. The movement began in Kolkata with splendid participation. They conducted campaigns in Delhi, Bengaluru and Mumbai which involved the collection of cigarette butts, sending them for recycling and spreading awareness.
Cigarette butts are made of cellulose acetate which is harmful to the environment. It also contains 7,000 toxic chemicals that adversely affect the life of aquatic as well as land animals.
Buttrush now has 288 volunteers across nine states who have travelled more than 3000 km. They have so far collected about 3,00,200 cigarette butts.
Rather than simply collecting the waste, Buttrush is aiming to travel pan India to generate data, research, analyse and come up with a sustainable model so that pollution can be tackled at the source. They also plan to create a template that can be followed by the governments to solve this issue.
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