From Stubs to Soft Toys, an Indian Factory Reprocesses Cigarette Ends

Soft toys made using recycled fiber separated from cigarette filter tips are seen at a cigarette butts recycling factory in Noida, India September 12, 2022. (Reuters)

Sitting on the floor of a house on the outskirts of New Delhi, women smile and chat as they fill brightly colored toy bears with white stuffing made from a product more commonly found in a trash can.

The material is composed of cigarette stubs, separated into fibers and cleaned and bleached after being gathered from the city streets where they had been discarded along with millions of others.