Citizens in Langzhong, Southwest China's Sichuan Province, stand in long queues in front of a stall at a plaza, holding dozens of cigarette butts and waiting to receive eggs from local government employees. Photo: Screenshot of a video posted by the Beijing News

Great news for egg-loving smokers - if there are any - in Langzhong, Southwest China's Sichuan Province. They can now exchange 20 cigarette butts for an egg in a new campaign launched by the local government. 

A video clip circulating online shows that citizens in Langzhong seem to be quite enthusiastic about the scheme, with people forming long queues in front of a stall at a plaza, holding dozens of cigarette butts and waiting to receive eggs from local government employees, who are collecting the used cigarettes to reduce littering and for other environmental purposes.  

More than 2,000 eggs were given out and more than 40,000 cigarette butts recycled within four days of the campaign, which started on Thursday and lasts until the end of September, reported ifeng.com on Tuesday. 

One resident, surnamed Tang, told local media that she received over 20 eggs in a single day, which made her "joyful" as she made the streets in the city a little cleaner. 

Netizens on China's Twitter-like microblogging platform Weibo also found the campaign to be a useful and interesting idea. "Now, it's time to smoke more to preserve the environment," one commenter joked.