Environmental Management Administration

On Aug. 22, the Ministry of Environment (MOENV) participated in a cigarette butts off the ground awareness event organized by Junior Chamber International Taiwan (JCI Taiwan). Together with the younger generation, the ministry unveiled the large-scale installation artwork “Collect Caps, Love the Earth” and took part in promoting the Sustainable Marketplace. This initiative not only builds on the “Cigarette Butts Off the Ground to Beautify the Environment” memorandum of understanding signed by both parties in January 2025, but also demonstrates the power of public-private collaboration and youth advocacy, calling on all citizens to act in protecting the environment.

The “Collect Caps, Love the Earth” installation artwork unveiled on the day centers on the theme of “Pick Up Cigarette Butts, Love the Earth.” Participants from JCI Taiwan chapters across the country collected approximately 30,000 recycled bottle caps, which were cleaned and prepared for use as artistic materials. Representatives from JCI chapters in Japan, South Korea, Mongolia, Malaysia, and other countries also participated in completing the artwork, highlighting the younger generation’s concern for land and marine pollution issues and demonstrating that environmental action transcends national borders.

To deepen public understanding of the hazards posed by cigarette butts, the MOENV set up an educational booth displaying dissected cigarette filters and cellulose acetate fibers soaked in glass bottles. The display directly debunked the common misconception that cigarette filters are biodegradable paper products, revealing instead their plastic nature and environmental toxicity. In addition, the booth incorporated interactive games that allowed participants to pick up slips of paper representing cigarette butts and accurately place them into cigarette butt receptacles, reinforcing the concept of “Clean Up Your Own Cigarette Butts” through engaging activities.

The event provided an opportunity to review the MOENV and JCI Taiwan’s partnership so far. Since signing the memorandum of understanding in 2025, both parties have actively translated environmental concepts into tangible actions. For example, during the Baishatun Mazu Pilgrimage in April 2026, Minister of Environment Peng Chi-ming personally led a team together with JCI Taiwan partners, serving as “Environmental Protection Pilgrims” who visited streets and neighborhoods to promote the “Cigarette butts Off the Ground” campaign. They encouraged the public to place cigarette butts into homemade cigarette butt collection containers and to pick up littered cigarette butts whenever possible, earning widespread public recognition.

The MOENV said that significant achievements have been made through public-private cooperation in reducing cigarette butt litter during the two-year period from July 2024 to July 2026. As many as 13,517 cigarette butt collection facilities have been installed in cigarette butt hotspot areas nationwide, at appropriate locations outside no-smoking zones and away from residential areas. Local environmental protection agencies have organized more than 870 cigarette butt reduction events, collectively recovering over 10,500 kilograms of cigarette butts (equivalent to approximately 61.77 million cigarette butts). Through ongoing promotion via social media and traditional media channels, the campaign has reached more than 10.1 million people.

The MOENV emphasized that although cigarette butts may appear small, they contain toxic chemicals and microplastics. If they enter terrestrial and aquatic ecosystems and subsequently the food chain, they may ultimately harm human health. The ministry therefore specifically urges smokers to adopt the good habits of fully extinguishing cigarettes and cleaning up their own cigarette butts. Through this event with JCI Taiwan, the ministry hopes to further embed the concept of keeping cigarette butts off the ground into the daily culture of people in Taiwan. The ministry will continue working with civil society and the business sector to create a clean, healthy, and sustainable environment.