Cy-Clope

Cy-Clope is a French company specialising in the management of smoking areas and the collection and valorisation of cigarette butts. The project originated in 2013 in Lyon, when co-founders Antoine Di Tommaso and Thibault Legrand met during a joint programme on innovative project management run by EMLYON Business School and École centrale de Lyon. Their student project focused on improving urban quality of life and reducing the number of cigarette butts thrown on the ground. The company itself was officially created in April 2015, and its first urban ashtrays — branded "Cy-Clopeurs" — were installed on 12 June 2015 at Médiamétrie in Levallois-Perret. Cy-Clope offers a turnkey service for public and private organisations: diagnosis of smoking areas, installation of eco-designed urban ashtrays, communication and awareness-raising, collection, maintenance, valorisation and reporting. Its Cy-Clopeurs are manufactured in Fruges, in the Pas-de-Calais department, from recycled and recyclable steel; they comply with Vigipirate and fire-safety standards and can hold between 1,000 and 10,000 cigarette butts. Collected butts are handled by Cy-Clope agents or by social and solidarity economy partners, then transformed into solid recovered fuel (combustible solide de récupération, CSR/CSE) by the partner Chimirec, feeding industrial furnaces and reducing the use of fossil raw materials. According to the company, one tonne of valorised butts is equivalent to roughly half a tonne of fossil energy saved. The company has expanded across France and into the Benelux, with regional agencies in major French metropolitan areas and offices in Luxembourg and Belgium. It serves office buildings, cities, stations, hospitals and amusement parks, and claims more than 4,000 equipped sites in France and the Benelux by 2026. Cy-Clope has been a partner of the World CleanUp Day since 2018, notably organising an annual cigarette-butt collection at Paris La Défense. In 2025 the company celebrated its tenth anniversary with more than 60 employees. It reports having collected and valorised more than 2 billion cigarette butts since its creation, equivalent to 500 tonnes of waste, having raised awareness among more than 350,000 people and having produced more than 2.9 million kWh of energy through energy recovery.

The project that became Cy-Clope began in 2013 in Lyon, when Antoine Di Tommaso and Thibault Legrand met during a programme on innovative project management organised jointly by EMLYON Business School and École centrale de Lyon. Their student project addressed the improvement of urban quality of life and the reduction of cigarette butts thrown on the ground, starting from the observation that 137,000 cigarette butts are discarded every second worldwide. The founding ambition was to raise awareness of the environmental impact of cigarette butts and to develop a solution that would reduce the number thrown on the ground by encouraging voluntary drop-off in dedicated furniture, allowing easy collection and compliant valorisation. Cy-Clope was officially created in April 2015. Its first urban ashtrays, called "Cy-Clopeurs", were installed on 12 June 2015 at Médiamétrie in Levallois-Perret. In 2016 the company opened its first office in Paris and extended its activity in the Île-de-France region. In 2017 Cy-Clope took part in a study by Ineris on cigarette butts, which recommended classifying the waste as hazardous. The company then adapted its solution by integrating energy recovery and ensuring traceability of butts through to their treatment with its partner Chimirec. Between 2017 and 2024, Cy-Clope continued its expansion in France and the Benelux, establishing a presence in several regions and major cities. Its regional agencies cover Île-de-France (Paris, Noisy-le-Sec), Hauts-de-France (Lille, Fruges — the registered office), Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes (Lyon, Clermont-Ferrand, Annecy), Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur (Marseille), Nouvelle-Aquitaine (Bordeaux), Occitanie (Toulouse, Montpellier), Normandy (Le Havre), Grand Est (Strasbourg), Bourgogne-Franche-Comté (Dijon), Pays de la Loire (Nantes), Centre-Val de Loire (Tours) and Brittany (Rennes), as well as Luxembourg (Livange, Roeser) and Belgium (Brussels). In 2025 the company celebrated its tenth anniversary with more than 60 employees. It claims more than 4,000 equipped sites in France and the Benelux by 2026. Cy-Clope's model combines a diagnosis of smoking areas, the installation of eco-designed Cy-Clopeurs manufactured in Fruges from recycled and recyclable steel, communication and awareness-raising, collection, maintenance, valorisation and reporting. Collected butts are handled by Cy-Clope agents or social and solidarity economy partners and transformed into solid recovered fuel by Chimirec, feeding industrial furnaces. The company states that one tonne of valorised butts is equivalent to about half a tonne of fossil energy saved. Since its creation, Cy-Clope reports having collected and valorised more than 2 billion cigarette butts (500 tonnes of waste), raised awareness among more than 350,000 people and produced more than 2.9 million kWh of energy. It has been a partner of the World CleanUp Day since 2018, organising an annual cigarette-butt collection at Paris La Défense.

• 2026

  Claims more than 4,000 equipped sites in France and the Benelux.

• 2025

  Celebrates ten years with more than 60 employees.

• 2018

  Becomes a partner of the World CleanUp Day, organising an annual cigarette-butt collection at Paris La Défense.

• 2017

  Participates in an Ineris study on cigarette butts; adapts its solution to include energy recovery and traceability with partner Chimirec.

• 2016

  First office opens in Paris; activity extends in Île-de-France.

• 2015

  Cy-Clope is officially created in April; first Cy-Clopeurs installed on 12 June at Médiamétrie in Levallois-Perret.

• 2013

  Antoine Di Tommaso and Thibault Legrand meet during a joint EMLYON / École centrale de Lyon programme and start the project that becomes Cy-Clope.

Turnkey, local and circular-economy solution for smoking-area management and cigarette-butt recycling, serving public and private organisations in France and the Benelux.

• Cy-Clopeurs

  Eco-designed urban ashtrays made in Fruges from recycled and recyclable steel, compliant with Vigipirate and fire-safety standards, holding 1,000 to 10,000 cigarette butts.

• Smoking-area management service

  Turnkey service including diagnosis, installation, communication, collection, maintenance, valorisation and reporting.

• Cigarette-butt valorisation

  Collected butts transformed into solid recovered fuel by Chimirec for industrial furnaces.

• World CleanUp Day partnership

1. 1Recyclage de mégots et collecte | Cy-Clopecy-clope.com
2. 2À propos - Cy-Clopecy-clope.com
3. 3Cy-Clopefr.wikipedia.org
4. 4Cy-Clopewikidata.org