According to the World Health Organization (WHO), a total of 4.5 trillion cigarette butts end up on the streets or in nature every year. And every discarded cigarette filter is filled to the brim not only with more than 5,000 toxins, but also with cellulose acetate, or non-biodegradable plastic.
Alexander Zaugg (49) and Zemri Sejfuli (34) want to propose a solution to this environmental problem with a cigarette pack with an integrated ashtray.
When the two fathers picked up their butts after a relaxed evening on the shore of Lake Thun, they asked themselves if there was an easier solution than carrying leftovers home. “Wouldn’t it be nice to always have an ashtray handy?” ‘ asked Zaugg.
Hours of poking and tinkering in the garage
A question that two neighbors from BE cannot give up. They started working in the garage. “We went shopping at DIY stores and we glued, soldered and tried everything,” says Sejfuli. Purchasing manager Sejfuli’s employer was on a short-term job due to the corona pandemic, so he used his free time to repair. Self-employed as a general contractor, much of Zaugg’s work was also lost during this time.
The result is a cigarette box with an integrated ashtray. The prototype only exists because of countless hours spent in the garage, many failed attempts, a few hours with patent attorneys, and most of all, a midnight inspiration from Sejfuli. “It was like in the movies: I woke up at night, had an idea, wrote it and fell asleep again. The next morning, I wasn’t sure if I was just dreaming. Fortunately, the note was there,” she says.
The cigarette ashtray works very simply: the fireproof, pull-out ashtray with space for about ten butts is integrated into the cigarette pack, which is still the same size.
Does not smell, does not burn
‘No, the ashtray cannot burn. And no, you don’t smell anything from the ashtray when the cigarette pack is in your trouser pocket,” says Zaugg. You push the cigarette butts back into the sealed box.
If every smoker has a packed ashtray inside, there is no longer any excuse to throw the rest of the cigarette on the floor.
So far, the two fathers have financed their ideas themselves. They set up a joint stock company to deposit the patents there.
“It’s an expensive hobby,” says Zaugg, and it takes a lot of time. “We’ve been working on this nonstop for two years – we even had a special line on holidays, so to speak,” he says. And she adds with a smile: “It’s better not to ask our partners that.”
When avaliable?
It will take some time before smokers in Switzerland can hold their ashtrays. Because this type of packaging is new, patents must be checked first. This test will likely run until mid-2023. How will things go after that: Preferably how do you ensure that as many cigarettes as possible are sold worldwide in ashtray packaging? You are in conversation with various players.
What you know for sure: Just not smoking helps all cigarette butts go away faster. Since that didn’t happen very quickly and none of the smokers planned for it, they hope for the second best solution: the ashtray.