Gianni: the Sicilian retiree who collects cigarette butts on Palermo's beaches. And pays one euro per butt.

It may have happened to you many times, in July and August during your beach holidays, to walk or play with your children on the sand and see the cigarette buttsHighly polluting, a cigarette butt discarded on the street, on the beach, or in a garden or green space contains approximately 4 toxic substances and takes around 10 years to degrade. Fortunately, the problem has begun to shake up municipal administrations, which are trying to combat this bad habit with hefty fines. But it's not just the projects carried out by individual municipalities: today we want to tell you about a wonderful initiative by a Sicilian pensioner to raise awareness among beachgoers at Lido di Noto about respecting and protecting the environment. As reported on NewSicilyGianni Di Pasquale, a former mechanical designer and internet enthusiast, originally from Sortino but living in Milan for years, decided to take advantage of the last days of his summer holidays in Lido di Noto to collect over 6 cigarette butts.

Interesting is the way in which the cigarette butts were recovered: Gianni placed a green table in beach and some empty glass containers and displayed the sign that read: “Let's rid our beach of cigarette butts. I buy cigarette butts for a cent each, and it's no joke." The offer convinced the beachgoers, both adults and children, who filled the containers to the brim within a few hours. The investment in cents was twenty euros: as the pensioner tells us: NewSicilyOne young man handed in 700 cigarette butts, winning €7. At the same time, many parents reimbursed their children out of their own pockets for picking up the cigarette butts they found on the beach. The goal of the initiative wasn't financial gain, but rather to convey a message of civility and respect for the beautiful beach and sea.

We at Non sprecare congratulate Mr. Di Pasquale on this wonderful initiative and hope that these good practices for protecting our environment will spread more and more every day.

(Cover image source: Newsicilia.it)