Cigarette butts for free food? How one group is asking people to rethink litter
A food truck in the Netherlands is offering free food in exchange for cigarette butts to raise awareness about littering. The initiative, called WasteBar, aims to change attitudes towards waste by allowing people to pay for Dutch pancakes with collected butts. The project has already collected over 500,000 cigarette butts and hopes to inspire a broader anti-littering movement.
- ▪More than 4.5 trillion cigarette butts are discarded globally each year.
- ▪The WasteBar food truck allows people to exchange cigarette butts for food at festivals in the Netherlands.
- ▪The initiative has collected over 500,000 cigarette butts since its launch in 2022.
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| Original publisher | the Guardian |
| Canonical URL | https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2026/may/28/wastebar-cigarette-butts-waste-free-food-netherlands |
| Publication time | Thu, 28 May 2026 05:00:55 GMT |
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More than 4.5tn cigarette butts are dropped every year around the world.View image in fullscreenMore than 4.5tn cigarette butts are dropped every year around the world.WasteCigarette butts for free food? How one group is asking people to rethink litterThe WasteBar food truck hopes the eye-catching deal will change people’s attitude to waste in the NetherlandsHannah Docter-LoebThu 28 May 2026 01.00 EDTLast modified on Thu 28 May 2026 01.33 EDTSharePrefer the Guardian on GoogleUsing cigarette butts to buy buttery Dutch pancakes? That is the deal one food truck is offering at festivals in the Netherlands as a way to get people thinking about litter.Cigarette butts are the most common form of plastic waste in the world, with more than 4.5tn butts produced every year.
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