Plastic Recycling

This project has been informed by the open source designs released by Dave Hakkens (see: https://preciousplastic.com/en/).
The original designs have been modified to better suit regional and remote installation as far as possible, with a view to installation in regional libraries as well as at The Edge.

Four different machine designs are available:

1. Plastic Shredder
2. Injection Moulder
3. Extruder
4. Sheet Former

Rationale

Community concerns about plastic waste have increased as more evidence of systemic and intractable pollution by discarded plastics continues to emerge. Currently, commercial plastic recycling is hampered by technical as well as economic barriers, which has resulted in a focus on recycling clean, single-type industrial waste and ongoing difficulty in marketing existing products. This project seeks to leverage the communities energy for change by developing, documenting and deploying domestic-scale recycling machinery that can handle sorted household waste plastic, and developing simple, low-cost mould and die making techniques that can engage community members in the design and making of new products.