PeukMeuk 2021 butt-collecting campaign takes place tomorrow, i | Amsterdammer in English

PeukMeuk 2021 butt-collecting campaign takes place tomorrow, in Amsterdam and throughout the Netherlands

Cigarette butts make up the majority of litter around the world. Just consider: in the Netherlands, 10 million kilos (!!!) of cigarette butts end up on the streets every year. Of these, 2 million kilos end up in canals, rivers and the North Sea. But it's not just about trash here: most of the filters of these butts are made of plastic (cellulose acetate), which contributes directly to the problem of plastic pollution.

The Plastic Peuken team is trying to stop all this, not only by calling on the government to ban plastic cigarette filters but also by raising public awareness of the huge amount of plastic that gets into the environment through discarded cigarette butts. For that purpose, they organise a campaign to collect them. Last year more than 140,000 cigarette butts were collected in just four hours, this year the plan is to collect 250,000!

The main event will take place in Amsterdam, but more than 50 municipalities have already joined the cause. See the programme and details here: https://www.eventbrite.nl/e/tickets-plastic-peukmeuk-2021-160623265511