The municipality of West Maas en Waal introduces ‘cigarette vacuum cleaner’ for cleaner streets
The Municipality of West Maas en Waal has taken a new step in the fight against litter. The litter brigades of West Maas en Waal recently acquired a special vacuum cleaner for cigarette butts. This innovative device helps volunteers clean up cigarettes that end up on the streets daily more quickly and easily.
Cigarettes in the trash can
Cigarette filters are not only a large part of litter, but they are also bad for the environment. They contain plastic and harmful substances that end up in nature. Lambert Romijnders, coordinator of the litter brigade in Beneden-Leeuwen, sees weekly how much work it is to clean up cigarettes. “With our new vacuum cleaner, cleaning up is much faster than with a litter picker,” says Lambert. “But of course, we would prefer people to throw their cigarettes in the bin after extinguishing them. This way, we keep West Maas en Waal clean together.”
Toward a Clean Community
Every village in the municipality has its own litter cleanup team. The volunteers on these teams are dedicated to keeping all the villages clean. Alderman Jan Slootweg is very proud of this: “Thanks in part to the efforts of the litter cleanup teams, our municipality remains clean and livable. With this new cigarette butt vacuum, we’re making their job a lot easier.”
The purchase of the vacuum cleaner aligns with the municipality’s policy to systematically reduce litter and raise residents’ awareness of the impact of small litter on the natural environment. In addition to cleaning up cigarette butts, the municipality also wants to prevent them from ending up on the ground. That is why it is exploring the possibility of placing ashtrays at the “hotspots” where cigarette butts are found on the ground. “But of course, we would prefer to see no litter on the ground at all,” concludes Evert Jan Slootweg.