I think almost anyone can agree that cigarette butts are kind of gross, especially when you find them lying around at places like the playground, where any curious little kid can pick them up and, if they're very curious, put them in their mouth. Perhaps even more disturbing than this, however, is that, according to Butts Out, about 4.3 trillion of these butts are tossed per year, and they only begin to break down after lying around for 12 years. 12 years! Now, there are people like me, who simply complain about these things, and then there are people who actually do something about them. These insanely inventive people take our yucky trash and manage to turn it into something useful ... or at least something much more interesting than what they originally started out with. Let's begin with those crummy cigarette butts, shall we?
1) Recycled Cigarette Butts as Clothing
Yes, that vest is made out of cigarette butts. Well, partially. This design is the work of Chilean designer Alexandra Guerrero, who, through the Mantis Project, has found a way to purify cigarette filters so that they can be mixed with natural wool and woven into cute, rustic-looking garments such as the one above. The vests, ponchos, dresses, and hats in this collection contain 20% recycled cigarette filter material. Pretty awesome, no?
2) Recycled Cigarette Butts as Artwork
This little guy is the work of artist Tom Deininger, and is made of unraveled cigarette filters. He's cute, for sure, but unfortunately he also completely reeks of tobacco. Bummer.
3) Recycled Floppy Disks as Jewelry
A little too avant garde for everyday wear, this bracelet from Pure Design is made out of floppy disks. You know, those things that we used to store data on ... back in the 80s ... remember?
4) Recycled Shopping Carts as Chairs
Remember when you were a kid and the best part about going to the grocery store was sitting in the shopping cart and getting carted up and down the aisles? Well, you can relive those sweet memories with this chair from reestore. Alas, the wheels have been removed, so you can't zoom up and down the hallways of your home, but still, it's a chair made out of a shopping cart!
5) Recycled Cardboard as Lighting
Recycling cardboard isn't a new idea, but the way artist Santiago Morahan recycles cardboard is. In addition to the cardboard lighting fixtures pictured above, Morahan also creates pencil cases, stools, magazine racks, and many other unique items out of this multi-purpose medium. Makes you reconsider just pitching all that packaging you've got lying around, doesn't it?
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