The EcoPontas & PapaChicletes project, developed by Laboratório da Paisagem in partnership with Centro de Valorização de Resíduos, is an avant-garde solution that seeks to reduce the accumulation of cigarette and chewing gum waste in public space areas, as well as to safeguard water lines, the final destination of much of this waste. This project, winner of Sociedade Ponto Verde’s 2016 Social Innovation Green Project Awards, has a very strong research nature, valuing waste and raising awareness of the importance of the circular economy.
The origin of the collected waste and its capacity for biological contamination is taken care of after microbiological stabilisation. Subsequently, considering their properties, the stabilised waste is recovered. In the case of chewing gum, it is proposed that it be recovered by incorporation into new polymers for various uses. As for cigarette butts, they are inserted in the formation of clay balls, as a solution for gardens, or in bricks, also in a partnership with ISQ (Welding and Quality Institute), promoting sustainable construction. The EcoPontas and PapaChicletes structures have already crossed the borders of the municipality, being present in several municipalities from north to south of Portugal, and in several entities that have adopted the vimaranense project for a global change.