GOUMBOOK’S SAVE THE BUTTS’ FIRST YEAR’S HIGHLIGHTS

This UAE National Environment Day on the 4th of February 2023, we proudly look back at what we have achieved together during the first year of Save The Butts: Thanks to more than 800 volunteers who participated in our different events and activations so far, we have been able to clean the UAE beaches and public spaces from over 233,000 cigarette butts. These have been collected and will undergo an innovative recycling process transforming them, along with other contaminated waste, into a sustainable alternative to plywood, thereby not only creating value from waste but simultaneously reducing the need for deforestation.

Save the Butts succeeds thanks to its unique partnership triangle: Bringing together the resources and expertise of three local organisations: Goumbook, ReLoop, and Terrax, each of which is an expert in their respective field whom also visualise that the fight against the pollution crisis is not a one-man show, but requires collaboration across companies and the involvement of all sectors of society.

Moreover, none of this would have been possible without the fantastic team from Dubai Municipality whom we thank sincerely for their enthusiasm and support.

This triple-win of environmental protection, circular solutions, and civic empowerment is what has made Save the Butts exceptionally well-received and popular with corporate clients, government partners, the hospitality and leisure sector, as well as schools, universities, and the general public.

One major milestone we are especially proud of having achieved during the campaign’s first year is the partial sponsorship of two important players in the field of ocean health and conservation globally and locally: The USbased organisation Ocean Conservancy and Dubai’s beach resort Atlantis The Palm have enabled us, with their funding and shared values, to extend our awareness programme to schools and the community, reaching more than 2,000 individuals within months.