{"id":25964,"date":"2022-07-01T11:02:19","date_gmt":"2022-07-01T10:02:19","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/prusalab.cz\/?p=25964"},"modified":"2022-07-11T14:42:52","modified_gmt":"2022-07-11T13:42:52","slug":"experimenting-with-recycled-plastic-waste","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/prusalab.cz\/en\/blog\/experimenting-with-recycled-plastic-waste\/","title":{"rendered":"Experimenting with recycled plastic waste"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Recycling waste from filament production or failed prints poses quite a challenge, albeit an interesting one. As of last year, Prusa Research has established a Sustainability department (read more about them here<\/a>). But even before that, we at PrusaLab have been tinkering with various ways to deal with plastic waste in an effective and smart manner. As the company seeks to diminish its impact on the environment through life-cycle assessments of products, contractor analyses and other means, we focus on solutions that are a bit more ‘creative’. PrusaLab is a prototyping workshop after all.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

One man’s trash, another man’s treasure<\/h5>\n\n\n\n

Before we could start making things, we had to turn our plastic waste into workable material first. Plastmakers<\/a>, a Czech recycling company and a member of the Precious Plastic<\/a> initiative, lent us their shredder, which allowed us to produce plastic flakes. The original idea for the usage of flakes was born in the days when PrusaLab was an open makerspace with hundreds of members. We wanted to, with help from the community, build a sheet press that could eventually be used to create plastic furniture down the road. Unfortunately, the coronavirus pandemic happened and we had to transform PrusaLab from a makerspace to a prototyping workshop. We did not want to proceed with the idea without community input, and so we scratched it and went looking for a different solution.<\/p>\n\n\n

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We showcased the shredder (and the recycling process as a whole) at Maker Faire 2021 Prague<\/div>\n\n\n\n

This is when found Plastic Guys<\/a>, yet another Czech company inspired by Precious Plastic and involved in the production of recycled plastic sheets. We invited them to visit us and provided samples of pellets made from various materials. This resulted in many sheets of varying thickness and colour being pressed a few weeks later.<\/p>\n\n\n

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Let the experimenting begin!<\/h5>\n\n\n\n

Machining the sheets proved quite difficult at first, as plastic shavings quickly clog cutting tools. Moreover, plastic is not suitable for laser cutting due to the fumes released during the process. Eventually, we fine-tuned the cutting process on the router and decided to make something fun as our first product \u2014 how about a skateboard<\/a>? After cutting the board, we used a heat gun to bend the tail, fitted it with trucks and wheels, and glued grip tape to the top. To prevent the board from cracking, we added aluminium reinforcement underneath.<\/p>\n\n\n

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The skateboard looks nice and is functional, but given its weight, it can not compare to a regular wooden board. However, we think it could be fitted with an electric motor and serve as an urban transport vehicle.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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