The Butt of a Road 

Researchers say that around 9 trillion cigarette butts will be tossed away worldwide in 2025, many of which will end up littering streets and other public places. 

So scientists got creative. 

Now, they want to put them to work because using them in the asphalt on roads helps to both clean streets and make them stronger, according to new research. 

Scientists focused on cigarette butts from electronic cigarettes, as these are longer than the traditional ones and contain more of the filtration material needed for the project. However, any type of cigarette butts could work, New Atlas explained. 

The team started by removing the ashy residue from the ends of the used e-cig filters, leaving the bulk of the material, mostly made of cellulose and PLA (polylactic acid) fibers. 

The remaining material was shredded and mixed with a synthetic hydrocarbon wax, which held the resulting mixture together. 

The mixture was then pressed, heated, and cold-cut into pellet-shaped pieces. 

The pellets, old asphalt from deteriorated roads, and bitumen were mixed, resulting in asphalts with 40 percent of their weight made up of recycled road material and cigarette butt pellets, according to a statement. 

When the pellets came into contact with the hot bitumen, their synthetic wax melted, letting the cellulose and PLA fibers integrate into the asphalt. 

“Overall, this study confirms the possible use of recycling agent-encapsulated fiber pellets derived from E-CBs (e-cigarette butts) in mixtures containing RAP (Reclaimed Asphalt Pavement), with the potential effects on improving fatigue resistance,” wrote the authors. 

The firm but flexible fibers served as miniature reinforcing bars within the asphalt, reinforcing it and making it less likely to crack under load but also serving as a binder, making it more flexible than traditional asphalt. 

This project also marks a step forward in sustainable road construction, as the pellets’ wax modified the viscosity of the bitumen, enabling the production of new asphalt at lower, more energy-efficient temperatures.