No More Butts

What No More Butts does

No More Butts Ltd is an Australian-registered environmental charity founded in 2020 and headquartered on the Sunshine Coast, operating with 6 staff and an entirely volunteer-run board and operations. It is the only Australian non-profit focused exclusively on tobacco waste — cigarette butts and disposable vapes — addressing what CSIRO has identified as the country's most littered item.

The organization's core technology is myco-remediation, delivered through a partnership with Melbourne-based mycologist Fungi Solutions. Oyster mushroom fungi are adapted over generations to grow on and digest cigarette butts (cellulose acetate plastic), secreting enzymes that dismantle the filter and up to 7,000 associated toxins. The resulting material is being developed into circular by-products such as insulation bricks and ash trays. This underpins the CigCycle research program and the Wollongong Fungi Trial. Beyond the technology, the organization runs community cleanup events (the Big Butt Hunt, 30+ held since 2022), a tiered donation-for-cleanup program (Bucks for Butts, $100 to $10,000 per tier), and a national advocacy campaign for a cigarette filter ban aligned with WHO FCTC Article 18.

Revenue is generated through a hybrid model: donations (tax-deductible via the No More Butts Public Fund, a Deductible Gift Recipient), government grants (Queensland Gives, Sustainability Victoria for CigCycle), paid consulting services to government agencies (NSW EPA contract disclosed), and prize money from awards. Customer segments include Australian local councils, state/federal government agencies, corporate ESG sponsors, and individual supporters. The organization also participates in UNEP's Global Partnership on Marine Litter, the One Planet Network, and the #BreakFreeFromPlastic movement, giving it global advocacy reach despite an Australian operational base.

Name

No More Butts

Legal name

No More Butts Ltd

Website

https://nomorebutts.org

Company type

Private

Founded year

2020

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

1–10 employees

Short description

No More Butts is an Australian volunteer-run charity that eliminates tobacco waste through community cleanups, myco-remediation research with Fungi Solutions, government consulting, and an advocacy campaign for a cigarette filter ban targeting councils, government agencies, and individual donors.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Environmental Advocacy and Tobacco Waste Cleanup Services

NAICS

Waste Collection (5621), Remediation and Other Waste Management Services (5629)

SIC

Refuse Systems (4953)

akta.pro primary industry

Eco-Friendly Disposal, Recycling & Donation Hauling (HSAIAOAJ)

akta.pro secondary industry

Pollution Prevention & Toxics Reduction (BPAGAGAJ)

Keywords

• Tobacco waste cleanup
• Cigarette butt pollution
• Myco-remediation research
• Environmental advocacy services
• Community cleanup programs

Headquarters

HQ city

Black Mountain

HQ country

Australia

HQ region

Oceania

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2B and B2C

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Marketing or Sales, Technology or R&D, Others

Revenue model

1. Donations: No More Butts collects donations from community members who wish to support the mission. Donations over $2 are tax deductible for Australian tax residents through the No More Butts Public Fund, a Deductible Gift Recipient.
2. Government Grants: The charity has been successful in receiving government grants to deliver programs on the ground, including funding from Queensland Gives and Sustainability Victoria for programs like CigCycle.
3. Consulting Services: No More Butts consults to peak bodies (such as NSW EPA) and local government areas on both pro bono and paid bases, offering program design, research, parliamentary responses, project management, and council assessments. This is described as the main paid revenue stream that supports advocacy efforts and event attendance.
4. Bucks for Butts Program: An innovative litter collection donation program where donors purchase 'bags', 'boxes', or 'barrels' of butts at fixed price points ($100, $2,000, $10,000) to fund the collection of a corresponding number of cigarette butts from coastal areas. Volunteers collect the butts and donors receive a Litter Retrieval Token, photos, and social media assets.
5. Prize Money: No More Butts has received prize money from various community awards, contributing to operational funding.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion3 records

Distribution channels4 records

Marketing channels10 records

Core offering

No More Butts is an Australian environmental charity that removes cigarette butts from the environment through volunteer-led community cleanup events (Big Butt Hunt), funds cleanups via a tiered donation program (Bucks for Butts), and runs myco-remediation research projects (CigCycle, Wollongong Fungi Trial) that use oyster mushrooms to detoxify and repurpose cigarette filters. It also provides paid and pro-bono consulting services to local councils and government agencies on tobacco waste policy, infrastructure, and program design, and advocates for a ban on cigarette filters in Australia.

Product overview

No More Butts is an environmental charity offering a portfolio of programs, services, and advocacy initiatives focused on eliminating tobacco waste. The core offerings include community-driven cleanup programs (Big Butt Hunt), innovative research initiatives (CigCycle, Wollongong Fungi Trial using myco-remediation), and a unique donation-for-cleanup model (Bucks for Butts). The organisation also provides professional services to government and corporate clients including consulting, council assessments, corporate clean-ups, speaking engagements, and research services. On the advocacy front, No More Butts runs petition campaigns for cigarette filter bans and provides education on vape disposal. The various programs are interconnected, with collected butts from Big Butt Hunts and Bucks for Butts donations being channelled into research programs like CigCycle to develop circular economy solutions.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Brands

• Bucks for Butts: An innovative litter collection program where donors can purchase 'bags', 'boxes', or 'barrels' of butts - $100 for 1,000 butts, $2,000 for 20,000 butts, or $10,000 for 100,000 butts. Volunteers collect the corresponding amount of cigarette butts and donors receive a Litter Retrieval Token.
• CigCycle
• Big Butt Hunt

Products and services

• Wollongong Fungi Trial Australian-first myco-remediation trial using oyster mushrooms to detoxify and repurpose cigarette butts in partnership with Wollongong City Council and Fungi Solutions. Tests local processing feasibility for creating materials like insulation bricks and ash trays. Targeted at councils and researchers seeking circular economy solutions for tobacco waste.
• Big Butt Hunt Cairns Inaugural flagship Big Butt Hunt community cleanup event, hosted in partnership with Cairns Regional Council and Clean Up Australia, collecting over 4,500 cigarette butts in under an hour. Established the Big Butt Hunt format that has since been replicated 30+ times across Australia.
• CigCycle A research project that uses mushroom mycelium to break down cigarette butts and create recyclable by-products such as insulation, construction materials, and sustainable replacements for polystyrene. Funded by Sustainability Victoria and operated in partnership with Fungi Solutions. Used by councils, researchers, and corporate partners to divert cigarette waste from landfill.
• Big Butt Hunt Community cleanup events that mobilise volunteers to collect cigarette butts from beaches and urban areas. Partners with local councils, Clean Up Australia, and Sea Shepherd Marine Debris Campaign. Available for councils, schools, businesses, and community organisations to host, with No More Butts coordinating and supporting.
• Bucks for Butts An innovative litter collection donation program where donors purchase 'bags' (AUD $100/1,000 butts), 'boxes' (AUD $2,000/20,000 butts), or 'barrels' (AUD $10,000/100,000 butts) of cigarette butts to be collected from coastal areas. Donors receive a personalised digital Litter Retrieval Token as proof of collection. Targeted at Australian tax residents and corporate donors (tax-deductible via the No More Butts Public Fund DGR).
• Consulting Services Global thought leadership and subject matter expertise on tobacco waste. Services include program design and implementation, subject research and report writing, parliamentary responses, project management, process optimisation, and database creation, management and analytics. Offered to peak bodies and local government areas on both pro bono and paid bases.
• Council Assessments Comprehensive services for local government areas including current infrastructure assessment, infrastructure proposals and discounted offers, geo-tagging and labelling, servicing schedules (weekly, fortnightly, monthly, quarterly), immediate area litter collection, baseline and progressive reporting, research project information, activations such as Big Butt Hunts, and awareness programs (ATL, BTL, TTL).
• Corporate Clean-ups Corporate team-building cleanup events enabling councils, schools, businesses or community organisations to host their own Big Butt Hunt. Support includes asset creation, project management and equipment facilitation through Clean Up Australia.
• Speaking Services Keynote presentations by Executive Director Shannon Mead (Queensland's 2024 Environmental Philanthropist of the Year) covering the organisation's mission, personal journey, circular initiatives, and relevant policy. Available for conferences, meetings and assemblies.
• Research Services Literature reviews, consultation responses and submissions on topics relevant to tobacco waste mission. Collaborations with research institutes including RMIT and James Cook University to investigate circular opportunities for tobacco waste including vaping devices.
• Petition for Filter Ban Open letter and petition calling on Australian Environment Ministers to take decisive action on cigarette filters by holding a public consultation to consider a ban on filtered cigarettes. Supported by WHO FCTC Article 18 guidance and the Belgian Superior Health Council.
• Vape Disposal Education Educational resource and advocacy program addressing environmental impacts of vaping including single-use plastics, lithium-ion battery waste, and hazardous chemicals. Provides disposal guidance for councils and individuals, noting vapes should not be placed in garbage or kerbside recycling bins.

Quantifiable outcome

• Over 1 million cigarette butts recovered from the environment through Sea Shepherd Marine Debris Campaign and No More Butts partnership
• +5 more outcomes

Named customers9 records

Segments4 records

Ideal customer profiles4 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature1 record

Partnerships

Twelve partnerships are on record, tiered core and minor.

• Fungi SolutionscoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerNo More Butts partnered with Melbourne-based mycologist Fungi Solutions to run myco-remediation trials using oyster mushrooms to detoxify and reuse cigarette butts. The partnership has delivered the Wollongong trial (2021), CigCycle program (2023), and multiple collection events. Fungi Solutions adapts a species of fungus over time to grow on and digest cigarette filter cellulose acetate, secreting digestive enzymes to break down toxins and produce circular by-products such as insulation bricks and ash trays.
• Sea Shepherd Marine Debris CampaigncoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerNo More Butts and Sea Shepherd Marine Debris Campaign joined forces in 2023 and 2024 to deliver The Great Butt Hunt events targeting cigarette butts at beaches during peak littering periods. The 2023 event in Surfers Paradise, Rye Beach, Perth and Sydney collected nearly 18,500 butts with 70 volunteers. The collective impact of both organisations has exceeded 1 million cigarette butts recovered.
• Clean Up AustraliacoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerNo More Butts partners with Clean Up Australia for the Big Butt Hunt and community clean-up events, including Clean Up Australia Day activations in Cairns (2022, 2025) and other locations. Clean Up Australia provides equipment and volunteer support, with Clean Up Australia Chair Pip Kiernan lending media support to the tobacco waste cause.
• Wollongong City CouncilcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerWollongong City Council partnered with No More Butts and Fungi Solutions on an Australian-first myco-remediation trial (2021), investing in new cigarette butt bins at key locations and collecting butts to send for processing rather than to landfill. Council Director Joanne Page described it as a proof-of-concept for scaling innovative projects locally.
• Boomerang AllianceminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerNo More Butts is an ally of the Australian-based Boomerang Alliance, a coalition of environment organisations working on packaging and plastic pollution issues.
• #BreakFreeFromPlastic MovementminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerNo More Butts joins more than 13,000 organisations and individual supporters from across the world in the #BreakFreeFromPlastic movement.
• Sustainability VictoriacoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerSustainability Victoria provided funding to enable CigCycle to scale up research into using Australian fungi to create a viable recycling stream from cigarette butts. This grant allowed the program to collect butts from businesses across Melbourne and expand the myco-remediation research.
• Royal Melbourne Institute of Technology (RMIT)minorStrategic or Co-development PartnerNo More Butts has worked with RMIT on research into circular opportunities for tobacco waste, including studies on the environmental impacts of vaping devices.
• James Cook University (JCU)minorStrategic or Co-development PartnerNo More Butts has worked with James Cook University (JCU) to prove and disprove circular opportunities for tobacco waste, including research on vaping devices. JCU volunteers also participated in the inaugural Cairns Big Butt Hunt.
• Various Australian CouncilscoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerNo More Butts has several pro bono relationships with councils across Australia, including Cairns Regional Council, City of Canada Bay, Townsville City Council (via Tidy Up Townsville), OzFish Unlimited, and Beach Patrol Australia. These councils host Big Butt Hunt events and provide volunteer support.
• NSW Environment Protection Authority (EPA)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerNo More Butts is contracted by NSW EPA to deliver consultancy on the topic of tobacco waste on a paid basis, including advisory work, program codesign, and litter prevention program development.
• Commonwealth Department of Climate Change, Energy, the Environment and Water (DCCEEW)minorStrategic or Co-development PartnerNo More Butts is proudly involved with the National Plastic Pollution Portal initiative from DCCEEW to aggregate various data sources into one portal for easy access. Data collected is made available to the CSIRO.

Scale indicators9 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights8 records

Direct peers

• Take 3: Australian-founded charity encouraging removal of 3 pieces of rubbish from beaches and waterways. Direct overlap on community-led beach cleanup, marine debris education and volunteer mobilisation in Australia.
• Boomerang Alliance: Australian coalition of environment organisations working on packaging and plastic pollution, of which No More Butts is an ally. Overlaps on policy advocacy for plastic reduction and LGA-facing initiatives.
• OzFish Unlimited: Australian NGO coordinating volunteer fishing-related cleanups and habitat restoration, listed as a council partner of No More Butts. Comparable in volunteer-led cleanup events and council-engagement model.
• Sea Shepherd Australia: Marine debris and conservation nonprofit already partnered with No More Butts for the Great Butt Hunt (2023, 2024). Overlaps on beach cleanups, marine litter focus, and event-driven volunteer mobilisation in Australia.
• Clean Up Australia: Australia's flagship community cleanup charity, already a partner of No More Butts for the Big Butt Hunt and Clean Up Australia Day events. Both mobilise volunteers across Australian councils for litter cleanup events, overlapping directly on mission, GTM and beneficiary (LGAs).
• Tangaroa Blue Foundation: Australian marine debris removal and education charity operating Source Reduction Plans with councils and volunteers across Australia. Closely comparable to NMB in mission, council engagement model and clean-up events.

Broad incumbents

• Surfrider Foundation: Large international beach and ocean conservation nonprofit running beach cleanups, plastic-pollution campaigns and policy advocacy globally. Comparable in marine litter mission and volunteer cleanup events but at much larger global scale.
• Plastic Free July Foundation: Australian-founded global movement challenging single-use plastics, including plastic cigarette filters. Comparable on plastic-pollution advocacy and awareness campaigns aimed at consumers and government.
• Planet Ark Foundation: Australian environmental charity focused on recycling, resource efficiency and circular economy. Comparable in NGO positioning and LGA/corporate-facing programs on waste reduction in Australia.

Others

• Fungi Solutions: Melbourne-based mycologist firm and core myco-remediation technology partner of No More Butts. Not a peer in the charity sense but a tightly coupled technology supplier on which CigCycle depends.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat5 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• Instagraminstagram.com/NoMoreButtsOrg
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/no-more-butts

Compliance8 records

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles8 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

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M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about No More Butts