HUMAN MAPLE

Human Maple is an Italian startup active in the circular economy and sustainable waste management, with a specific focus on one of the most widespread and underestimated urban problems: cigarette butts. Among the most present wastes in the environment, they represent a major source of urban pollution that takes between 5 and 12 years to fully decompose in nature. The startup has developed an integrated model that combines collection infrastructure, management services, and a patented industrial process capable of transforming waste into a new raw material. Alongside this post-consumer oriented model, Human Maple has added a second technological line dedicated to the recovery of industrial cellulose acetate waste generated by the filter production chain, thus closing the material cycle both downstream and upstream.

Solutions offered: a “turnkey” service for entities and companies

Human Maple provides public entities, businesses, commercial activities, and accommodation facilities with a network of dedicated ashtrays, designed to encourage the correct disposal of butts and reduce littering. The service includes:

• supply of containers;
• periodic collection of butts;
• logistics and certified transport to the treatment plant;
• tracking of collection flows.

In parallel, the startup promotes RICICCAMI, an awareness campaign aimed at citizens, corporate employees, and tourists. The goal is to spread awareness about the problem of butts dispersed in the environment, encourage virtuous behavior, and make the social and environmental impact of collection initiatives measurable.

Technology and industrial plant: from waste to new raw material

Human Maple is headquartered in Modena, where the startup manages an industrial plant dedicated to the recovery of cellulose acetate, the main component of cigarette filters. Through a patented purification process, the butts are transformed into a material reusable by various industrial sectors.

Recycled acetate finds application as padding for the textile and sustainable fashion sector, as insulating material for construction, and as a technical component for high-value-added products. Starting from 2026, Human Maple will introduce a new product line oriented toward the fashion and outdoor sectors, featuring winter jackets padded with recycled cellulose acetate—the first industrial application of its kind in the world of cigarette butt recycling.

A second technological line: recovery of industrial acetate waste

In addition to treating post-consumer butts, Human Maple has developed a process dedicated to recycling industrial cellulose acetate waste—production residues that the filter and paper mill supply chain produces in large volumes and which today are mostly destined for disposal or waste-to-energy. Thanks to the same proprietary material regeneration know-how, the startup is able to reintroduce them into the production cycle as secondary raw materials, with unit treatment costs radically lower than the post-consumer line and with already structurally high volumes.

This second line allows Human Maple to intercept the upstream supply chain—paper mills, filter manufacturers, and tobacco industrial hubs—offering them a certified recovery solution aligned with ESG obligations and the new European EPR Directive on tobacco producers. The result is a single industrial platform capable of closing the cellulose acetate cycle along the entire chain, from urban waste to production scrap, with an economically sustainable and replicable model on a European scale.

A circular model in six steps

Human Maple has developed a circular economy model divided into six phases, designed to reduce the impact of butts and transform them into a resource:

1. Impact analysis: mapping the initial impact of the client, defining the collection plan and the reuse potential of the recycled material.
2. Awareness: activities and services of the RICICCAMI campaign to involve citizens, employees, or end-users and promote correct disposal.
3. Disposal: distribution of dedicated ashtrays and local initiatives to increase capillarity and collection volume.
4. Management: integrated logistics service using airtight bags, certified barrels, and collection in compliance with regulations (EWC code 20.01.39).
5. Impact and certification: issuance of certificates, impact calculation, integration into sustainability reports, communication campaigns, and visibility for clients.
6. Regeneration: transformation of the collected material into new raw materials or branded products, in line with what was defined in the initial analysis.

Environmental impact and growth prospects

Every year, according to industry estimates, over 4.5 trillion butts are dispersed into the environment. Human Maple addresses this emergency through a replicable, certifiable model oriented toward maximum transparency, integrable into the ESG strategies of companies and local administrations. The extension of the technology to industrial acetate waste further expands the startup’s scope of intervention, bringing volumes from urban post-consumption and industrial processing scraps under the same production roof.

The benefits generated include:

• reduction of urban pollution;
• recovery of a complex and difficult-to-treat material;
• valorization of industrial waste from the filter supply chain as a new raw material;
• raising public awareness;
• valorization of waste as a new industrial resource.

Looking to the future, the startup aims to expand plant capacity on both lines, export the model to other European territories, and consolidate itself as a reference player in the advanced recycling of cellulose acetate, from post-consumer butts to industrial waste.

The Team

The startup consists of a team of professionals:

• Marco Boccia – CEO and Co-founder
• Ali Benkouhail – CEO and Co-founder
• Francesco Schipa – Chief Marketing & Commercial Officer
• Carlo Della Cioppa – COO
• Mario Villano – Chief R&D Officer