Open Source Recycling

Abstract

At this moment, the problem of plastic pollution does not need an introduction. Although recycling rates are slowly rising, plastic pollution remains one of the biggest threads to the global ecosystem. Especially in low-to-middle-income countries, industrial recycling systems are sparse due to their required investment.

Precious Plastic is an organization aiming to tackle plastic pollution, step by step. They openly distribute blueprints of recycling machines for anyone to use, which enables local recyclers to start their own informal recycling workshop. Over 40,000 people in 400 workspaces are connected through the Precious Plastic Universe, in which recyclers, designers and plastic collectors collaborate. One of their machines is an injection machine, capable of injecting recycling plastic into a mold (figure 1). This machine is low cost, easy to build, and creates a beautiful marbled aesthetic that convincingly tells the story of the value of recycled plastic.

However, the design of the machine has quite a number of problems. Mainly, it requires an excessive amount of hand-force which exceeds human ergonomic limits. The machine also has a number of safety and buildability issues. Lastly, the machine does not easily enable tailoring due to its monolithic design. Next to the problems relating to the injection machine, Precious Plastic has noticed they often miss out on gathering improvements that builders implement in their machine. Due to this, valuable opportunities for development of the machine are not redeemed. This project aims to tackle these problems through two design outcomes. The first outcome is an online framework where users can tailor their injection machine based on their needs and upload their machine improvements. The concept aims to transform the current monolithic design sharing system into an inviting modular framework.

The second outcome is an advanced version of the injection machine. The goal aimed to develop, validate and document a functioning prototype of an advanced arbor injection machine. The design of the machine decreases the required input force by 70%, while producing a higher injection pressure and solving the prior safety and usage problems. The design of the machine was developed in active collaboration with a group of experienced machine builders and will be distributed throughout the Precious Plastic Universe.

In the end, both design outcomes contribute towards a more sustainable world, in which people are empowered through Open Source Hardware and plastic is in fact precious.