Dimple Tiles

A Second Life for Littered Cigarette Butts

Febryan Tricahyo (ID) x Alistair Byars (UK)

Every year millions of cigarette butts get dumped in the landfills in Indonesia. The cigarette filter is made of cellulose acetate, a man-made plastic material containing hundreds of toxic chemicals. To fight against Indonesia’s most littered item, Febryan Tricahyo and Alistair Byars came up with Dimple Tiles, which offers an innovative recycling solution to this waste.

Material Research

Hydrothermal treatment on cigarette butts, resulted in two outcomes: liquid & pulp.

The Problem

Cigarette buts are one of the most littered items in the world. This is mainly due to a familiar habit that many people have experienced: step outside, smoke a cigarette, toss what’s left on the concrete. Although it seems like a small action, this habit produces about 4.5 trillion individual butts polluting our global environment.

It’s a lesser-known fact that the cigarette filter is made of cellulose acetate, a kind of non-biodegradable plastic, and it takes almost ten years for this ingredient to decompose completely. Indonesia has a major plastic waste problem on its hands. A recent study found that Indonesia is the second-largest contributor to the abundance of plastic waste in the ocean.

Incorporating butts into tiles provides an opportunity for “the customers” to create a unique product story. Therefore, the target market in this situation would be the architects and interior designers in their new and existing buildings. However, the users would also be the residents or the public who inhabit the place.

Textural Development

The Solution

Febryan and Alistair were inspired to develop a solution that could have a noticeable impact on the waste management of cigarettes. They came up with Dimple Tiles, a system of floor tiles made of a specific number of cigarette butts. They wanted this product to have the potential to be mass-produced and be made in the form of modules.

They collaborated with Paropong, a waste management company in Bandung, Indonesia, to carry out the processing of butts using a hydrothermal machine. This technology helps transform these butts into new, safe, and eco-friendly materials.

Colour Palette

Colour Testing

Shape Exploration

The subtle dip catches the light nicely and we think would pair well with the rough character of the concrete.

Product Specification

The Outcome

The dimple shape is something Alistair explored in the past to produce hand-held objects. Through computer modelling, the pair explored the dimple shape within a square tile format. 1 Dimple tile has a size of 15 x 15 x 2 cm and weighs about 25 kg of cigarettes. The 3D modelling shows how the subtle dip catches the light nicely, which would pair well with the rough character of the concrete.

In an architectural project, tiles are one of the material components that are used the most, which helps fulfil their desire for a mass-produced product. Through Dimple Tiles, Febryan and Alistair also hope to aid in the conversation around curbing the smoking culture in Indonesia, hence reducing the future rates of littering. When there is not enough waste left to continue producing the product, their jobs are done.