Prusa Recycle Program?  

Re: Prusa Recycle Program?

you could make one of those organizers with the empty spool

Re: Prusa Recycle Program?

I was wondering if you plan any kind of recycle program for unused filaments, print leftovers / waste and spool holders?
This is something that's really only practical on a local level. Every region has its own regulations, and shipping stuff across the globe only compounds the problems you're trying to reduce. Check to see if there are any programs locally in your region. Filament manufacturers often are working on recycling programs, so see if any are located near you.

In the future, you might try buying filament in the MasterSpool packaging without a spool. You either re-use a spool, or print one that can be re-used with future refills. That will at least remove the spools from the waste stream.

RE: Prusa Recycle Program?

This is something that really hasn’t sat well with me since beginning my use of 3d printers. It has become something of a hot-button issue - from the Great Pacific garbage patch, to microplastic absorption  ... Whenever I can, I choose not to use plastic in my daily life.

When using a 3d printer, I am literally creating more plastic stuff that has a good chance of being thrown away later on. While it might have some “use” immediately or in the future, at some point it will literally become rubbish. Don’t get me wrong. It is freaking awesome and I am continually amazed at what is capable of being done with it.

I use cling film as an example. It is useful but if you are truthful with yourself when you buy a roll of it, at some point that entire roll of plastic film will end up in the rubbish (and then in landfill).

Prusa has a track record of being a leader, not a follower. While I and many others can make individual contributions to a greater result (less plastic wasted, more recycled) through things like local programs, recycling old spools etc, I think it would be great if PR could set an example for the rest of the industry.

I admit I don’t know what that would look like. Filament that is tested and guaranteed to break down safely in the environment? A renewed focus on sustainability over the long term? Assisting users in finding suitable recycling places? Designing their own filastruder/protocycler+?

I don’t think it would stop anyone from 3d printing at the moment. I think however its something that the industry may need to face up to in the coming years.

RE: Prusa Recycle Program?

An admirable goal, but we do need to face the fact that by engaging in 3D printing, we are contributing to the plastic waste stream. Unless we're willing to pay a bit more for recycled filament, and deal with the inconvenience and possible cost of locating and using a commercial recycling facility, we're part of the problem just as much as Prusa.

RE: Prusa Recycle Program?

Terrafilum and Replay3d come to mind. One of them also takes old spools for recycling too. 

FWIW I'm gathering my own scraps in separate bins and when I have a reasonable amount I will likely get a couple rolls from one of those two so I can send in my scrap for recycling. (Unfortunately the "buy our product first to recycle" isn't exactly helping the problem - USPS is cheap enough I'd gladly send in my scrap at my own expense instead of a prepaid label if they allowed it)

Edit: They are relatively new programs, so I am sure they are still just getting the wheels turning; I'll definitely keep an eye on them. 

RE: Prusa Recycle Program?

Posted by: bobstro

An admirable goal, but we do need to face the fact that by engaging in 3D printing, we are contributing to the plastic waste stream. Unless we're willing to pay a bit more for recycled filament, and deal with the inconvenience and possible cost of locating and using a commercial recycling facility, we're part of the problem just as much as Prusa.

It's one of the things that kept me from 3D printing for so long. Then I read up on how PLA is (commercially) compostable and thought it might be time. Unfortunately I didn't look at the bigger picture of getting it recycled/composted and see that options (in my area anyway) are non-existent. 

Things I find really irritate about the supply line:

• I have yet to get a roll that is stamped as recyclable so I can send it off with my normal recycling.
• Vendors that offer spool-less rolls usually only have a limited color selection in that form.
• Few options exist for smaller rolls (e.g. 100, 250, 500, and 750g) when you only need a little bit which leads to storage and aging issues that can result in near full rolls being tossed.

I've thought about recycling and making my own filament, but I don't have space and the additional power consumption has it's own environmental impact.

I'll keep collecting my waste as long as I have space to store it though while I hope for a workable solution to come available.

RE: Prusa Recycle Program?

Terrafilum and Replay3d come to mind. One of them also takes old spools for recycling too.

I'd not heard of them, I'll try to use them next time I order filament. Shipping is around $34 to Australia, so it would only make sense when purchasing in bulk.

I have yet to get a roll that is stamped as recyclable so I can send it off with my normal recycling.

The problem with this is from a recyclers standpoint. If you get a pile of broken plastic, how do you know that every small granule is ABS? Is there some stray bits of PC in there, or PETG, or one of those composites?

I think there's a fair bit of progress that needs to be made in plastic recycling - in general - before this stuff will become a lot easier.

I still think it would be great step forward to have the likes of PR at the very least show they are thinking about what effect their business has on the environment and what they are doing to minimise that impact. It's easy to be cynical and say well everyone has a sustainability policy, companies can say whatever they like on their web page (and do the opposite of what they say if they like). At least it shows their willingness to look at their own place in the world and try to minimise their impact!

Have a look at these:

Fuji Xerox

Konica Minolta

Canon

HP

Logitech

There's nothing similar on the few 3D printer companies websites that I can see.

RE: Prusa Recycle Program?

Posted by: Steve_AU

I have yet to get a roll that is stamped as recyclable so I can send it off with my normal recycling.

The problem with this is from a recyclers standpoint. If you get a pile of broken plastic, how do you know that every small granule is ABS? Is there some stray bits of PC in there, or PETG, or one of those composites?

 

I think he was referring to the spools, not the filament scraps. I have to agree, it's stupid they're not stamped with a symbol because they're almost certainly pure something-or-other, I'd have to guess ABS or PET. 

RE: Prusa Recycle Program?

Can you say any ART FORM is in general a 'green' activity?  Cadmium Yellow.  Titanium White.  Beryllium Grey. 

Welding ... stained glass ... spraying aerosols in general.

Unlike other types of plastics, PLA is biodegradable, more or less.  If 'green' is on your mind, stick with PLA and be happy when you toss the waste into a bin.

RE: Prusa Recycle Program?

Posted by: Tim

Can you say any ART FORM is in general a 'green' activity? 

Topiary? 😀

Cadmium Yellow.  Titanium White.  Beryllium Grey. 

Welding ... stained glass ... spraying aerosols in general.

Unlike other types of plastics, PLA is biodegradable, more or less.  If 'green' is on your mind, stick with PLA and be happy when you toss the waste into a bin.

Food waste is biodegradable, yet does not break down well in landfills because it's basically buried in an anaerobic environment. So the bacteria and organisms that normally turn it into compost/soil can't survive, and it just sits there, a lot longer than you'd think.

RE: Prusa Recycle Program?

Posted by: Steve_AU

Terrafilum and Replay3d come to mind. One of them also takes old spools for recycling too.

I'd not heard of them, I'll try to use them next time I order filament. Shipping is around $34 to Australia, so it would only make sense when purchasing in bulk.

I have yet to get a roll that is stamped as recyclable so I can send it off with my normal recycling.

The problem with this is from a recyclers standpoint. If you get a pile of broken plastic, how do you know that every small granule is ABS? Is there some stray bits of PC in there, or PETG, or one of those composites?

Sorry. I meant the spools. All the ones I've gotten so far have not been marked as recyclable.

RE: Prusa Recycle Program?

Sorry. I meant the spools. All the ones I've gotten so far have not been marked as recyclable.

Yeah, that would certainly help. My local (and state) government here where I live (Victoria, Australia) is pretty big on sustainability and we already have a bunch of good recycling programs. Some plastics are recycled, but I suspect any filament spools would just be diverted to landfill if it wasn't obviously recyclable.

RE: Prusa Recycle Program?

I've only found one spool actually labelled for recycling. I think it was Fillamentum. eSun spools are easily resuable. I've refilled them with Filastruder Veracity PETG filament which is available in basic colors. I touched base with RePLAy 3D and they hope to sell recycled PLA and ABS in MasterSpool refill format. Some resellers will order or de-spool filament if you establish a relationship with them.

There are small things you can do. Unfortunately, without effective commercial composting, even PLA sticks around for hundreds of years. Better than ABS and others, but still not very "green". If we're going to ask Prusa and others to take the risk and added cost of producing recycled materials and accept materials back, we need to actually buy from them and not just whatever's cheapest on Amazon on any given day. You either mean it, or you're just making noise. I'm willing to play $25 for PLA and buy MasterSpool refills even if they're not the cheapest. I still need to buy some virgin stuff, but I do hope to find it spool-less or at least on recyclable spools.

For the most part, we're complaining about the state of the environment while driving our Hummers around. We're hypocrites. It's hard not to be.

RE: Prusa Recycle Program?

Couldn't Prusa add 'filament recycling centre' as a category on the map?

That way anyone with a filabot, or similar, could offer to recycle peoples waste filament and failed prints for a fee.  The main issue is knowing the quality of the feed plastic.  I'd be delighted if I could send my own segregated waste to someone who then sent it back to me in quality filament form.  I'd personally be happy to pay them the same price as I pay for virgin filament, possibly even more.

RE: Prusa Recycle Program?

Check out https://preciousplastic.com/

It's a global, open-source, albeit a bit sparse group with varying capabilities based on the local community. As long as you have sorted, clean, and identified plastics, there may be someone interested in reprocessing them, even if it isn't into new filament. Their model revolves around thermoplastics, so they'll have a decent overlap in knowledge base with FDM printing enthusiasts.  With enough community cross-pollination, an apparent demand for filament re-processing will lead to a lower barrier to entry in your local community, since designs and ideas are shared across the platform.