On the premises of the company ProfiOdpady in Hořín near Mělník in the Central Bohemian Region, the companies Reneso ČR and Philip Morris ČR put into operation a line for processing used tobacco and nicotine cartridges. According to reports of 22 October 2026, it is the first such facility in Czechia. Hugo Repáň, founder and chief executive of Reneso, said it is only the second in the world.[1][2]
The line cuts up the filters and cartridges, removes the metal parts from them and granulates the remaining material. The resulting product, Reneso Fibers, is intended for asphalt mixes, where it replaces cellulose fibres. According to Repáň, it can improve the resistance of a road surface to rutting, and adding fibres from the cartridges reduced rutting by up to ten per cent. According to iDNES.cz, one tonne of the material is enough for roughly 200 metres of road. The material is to appear in Czech asphalt mixes for the first time in the first half of 2027.[1][2]
The same technology has been operating in Slovakia for several years, and cartridges returned in Czechia have so far also been sent there for processing. There the material was used, for example, in building road sections in Malinovo, Kováčová and Žiar nad Hronom.[1]
Used cartridges have been collected in Czechia and Slovakia since 2022. In Czechia, people can return them voluntarily and without payment at about 150 Philip Morris outlets. Since the beginning of 2026, an average of 1.4 tonnes of cartridges a month has been returned in Czechia, roughly two million pieces, while in Slovakia about 700 to 800 kilograms a month is collected. According to Karolína Nováková of Philip Morris, in 2025 people returned approximately one tenth of the cartridges sold at those company outlets that have collection points. According to iDNES.cz, more than 100 tonnes of cartridges have been returned in the two countries.[1][2]
The Hořín facility is housed in a twelve-metre shipping container and can process up to five tonnes of cartridges a month, more than Czechs currently return. Employees prepare the material throughout the month, and for one week specialised workers come to produce Reneso Fibers. Repáň said another line could be built in another region or abroad. The company does not plan to process nicotine pouches.[1][2]
Chronology
- — According to reports of 22 October 2026, the first Czech line that processes used tobacco and nicotine refills into an additive for asphalt mixes was put into operation in Hoříň near Mělník in the Central Bohemian Region. Novinky.cz iDNES.cz
Sources
- Novinky.cz — 22 October 2026
- iDNES.cz — 22 October 2026