Hey all,
Cant find if this has been asked before, but how do you guys recycle your failed/prototype prints? Just chuck it in the recycle bin or are there better alternatives?
Regards
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Hi Altus,
Recycling 3D prints is a tricky one because your options will vary a lot based on what your local recycling center can handle and what materials you are printing with.
When recyclers are sorting material they will use the Resin Identification Code printed on most products to determine which recycling stream an object needs to go into.
CNC Kitchen and Teaching Tech have a number of videos based around their own efforts to recycle their prints so they can reuse the material themselves.
It might be worth contacting your local recycling centre and asking them if they can accept materials without the Resin Identification Code and what plastics can actually be recycled when they go into your bin in your area. The materials recycled varies greatly between local government areas in Australia.
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Hey Trent,
I always print in PLA, so at least I know what type of plastic I want to get rid of.
I have had a look into the shredders, but I cant justify the expense for the small amount of plastic that I generate, as an example, over the last year, I have around 1kg worth of recyclable material.
I might just end up contacting the recycling centre and take it from there then.
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If you do a search for “Precious Plastics” They have designs for making plastic shredders, extruders, and other machines.
They even had an interactive map, which had locations of people interested in the project, people who had built their own machines from free downloadable designs.
If you can find a person who has their own plastics shredder, they may be able to process the creations you no longer need into shards.
These shards are either placed into an extruder to make either filament or other materials that might be suitable for your purposes - else you can sell your shards to someone for cost recovery.
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