Everyone is invited, by The Trash Traveler, to take part, between 15 and 23 April, in the largest cigarette butt cleaning event in the world. The aim: at the end of the week, to gather a million copies in Lisbon and thus raise awareness of environmental issues
When it comes to making the planet a more habitable place, Andreas Noe, 35, hasn't had a break in recent years. When he finally organised himself to spend a little more time in peace, the Blue Ocean Foundation challenged him, on the occasion of Earth Day (22nd April), to do what this molecular biologist likes doing most: change consciences. If he accepted the challenge, then let it be a big one.
The German activist, who has adopted this country as his home, known as The Trash Traveler, has gathered the community around him for the last three years on his environmental adventures, recruited the Rede Biataki, Missão Beatão, Associação Novo Mundo Azul and Plogging Challenge Portugal as his main partners and launched the challenge: "Let's do the biggest butt cleaning in the world in Portugal".
Andreas wants one million cigarette butts to be collected in Lisbon's Parque das Nações on April 23, the last day of this endeavour which begins on Saturday 15 - the same amount he collected in 2021 during the two months he spent on the road. "Showing one unit has no impact, showing a million of them, picked up in a week, already will," he assures.
"Each person can act individually and then deliver the cigarette butts to the groups that have formed in various parts of the country," explains Andreas. To find out where the project is throughout the week, you can take a look at the website. However, this action doesn't end after the cigarette butts have been collected, it should be a behavioural change towards the defence of the oceans and the environment in general. "I would remind you that this project is not just about cleaning up waste, it is about raising awareness of a much bigger problem," stresses the environmentalist. "Several times during my outings to the community, I have approached smokers, not only to show them the portable ashtrays, but also to talk to them about cigarette butts. Many of them admit that they didn't know they contained plastic and that they weren't supposed to throw them on the ground", she says, showing how important these direct actions are to prevent these apparently harmless cigarette butts from accumulating in the streets or ending up in the ocean.
"One of the current problems is that cigarette butts are not considered toxic waste or treated as such. We also want to use this action to change legislation in Portugal", concludes the activist who, during the coming week, instead of being quiet, as he had planned, will be hopping from group to group, from north to south of the country. If it changes just one conscience, it will already be worth it.
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