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The big cigarette butt clean-up, September 20-30, 2026
The participatory citizen challenge to fight cigarette butt pollution and protect ecosystems
Learn more
The big cigarette butt clean-up, September 20-30, 2026
The participatory citizen challenge to fight cigarette butt pollution and protect ecosystems
A question? Write to info@waterlover.org.
To create a strong signal and amplify our media impact for collective awareness.
By finding partners to turn cigarette butts into a resource and follow through on our commitment, all the way down the chain.
To sustainably grow the initiative and reflect the global scale of cigarette butt pollution.
The Water Lover Challenge is 10 days to raise awareness and collect as many cigarette butts as possible.
For all citizens and all generations, smokers or not!
Whether you represent a school, a company, a city, a park, or you are an individual, the Water Lover Challenge is open to everyone and free!
Organize a clean-up between September 20 and 30, 2026.
Near you, in the city, in a park, in a forest, on the beach...
Grab some gloves, a recycled plastic bottle, and start collecting!
Counting is simple!
A 0.5 L bottle = about 250 butts, 1 L = about 500 butts...
Register your collection and win prizes!
Enter your number of cigarette butts and send your photo directly through the form below.
Your number is added to the overall total and you are entered into a prize draw to win one of the prizes offered by our partners!
World Cleanup Day supports the Water Lover Challenge: if you organise a clean-up on 20 September, write #WaterLover in the form on their website and, of course, state the number of cigarette butts collected. That way, we can count you in!
The small waste with a huge impact.
cigarette butts are thrown on the ground every year worldwide. Weighing only 0.22 grams, it is the most widespread waste on the planet.
of water contaminated by a single cigarette butt, which contains more than 5,000 chemicals, including 150 highly toxic substances such as arsenic, cadmium and lead.
to decompose. Each cigarette butt releases up to 15,000 microplastics: a scourge for soil, rivers, ecosystems and human health.
of global wildfires are linked to cigarette butts. 600,000 hectares burned in Europe this summer.
Sources: WHO, CNCT, FAO
September 20 to 30, 2026
To act for the protection of nature and our health.
A fun, high-impact and concrete event to bring your sustainability commitments to life.
Become a sponsor of the challenge!
It is also possible to organize themed talks with Noam Yaron, with proceeds going entirely to the Water Lover Challenge.
This year, to make the clean-up even more educational, we are providing a communication and awareness kit on cigarette butts and the issues they raise.
Our ambassador
You may have seen him swim more than 191 km for Nature last summer; he is now setting off to conquer mountain summits...
For the 5th consecutive year, Swiss eco-adventurer Noam Yaron is taking on the challenge by giving the cause a voice in the media and mobilizing his community of more than 830,000 followers on social media.
They are talking about the challenge:
