Editor's Note:
A member of the community forwarded this article to me and I want to share the idea with everyone. Last year, the recycling center in Barrett closed, and this might be a great way to respond. It's environmentally friendly and we'd be creating value out of items that we used to discard...
These DIY Machines Let Anyone Recycle Plastic Into New Products
The majority of the 300 million tons of plastic produced every year isn’t recycled, and recycling that does happen typically happens at an industrial scale in factories using equipment that can cost tens of thousands of dollars. But a growing number of designers are using a set of open-source, easy-to-build tools to recycle plastic and manufacture new plastic products on their own.
One set of instructions explains how to build a low-cost machine that shreds plastic into flakes. Another modular machine extrudes plastic that can be used for 3D printing; an injection machine and a compression machine can form plastic into molds. A series of videos explain how to build the machines using basic materials and universal parts.
Designers around the world began using the machines to make recycled plastic products in 2016, and the organization is now sharing new instructions for building full recycling workshops inside shipping containers. They’ve also created a new map to connect people in the DIY recycling community.
Original Article
Learn how to Start a Recycling center in your community
