I kept collecting the poop, wasted prints and failed test prints.
Sorted by material of course.
Last week I found a big sticker on the lid of my recycling bin when I got home from work.
A nice lesson with pics and examples of what can go into the recycling and what not.
With a little warning towards the end that I shall follow the recommendations or risk my bin being left full on the kerb.
What happened ?
I used a yellow plastic bag, meant for recyclable waste and with a wide marker wrote āPLAā on one and āPETGā on the otherā¦
Contacted the waste service provider and was stunned to hear their excusesā¦
For starters bags are a no go as we have no suitable recycling facilities - Whiskey tango foxtrot !!??
Large quantities of plastic waste are not welcome either, just normal household quantities - go figureā¦
I was told I shall get my print waste to the local collection hub insteadā¦
Our local hub to get rid of what does not fit or should not go into the normal bins closes at 5PM and is almost impossible for me to reach on time unless I have a day off.
Decided to send them an Email first to not get angry upon arrivalā¦
Got a leaflet Emailed back that was of no use, so I decided to bite the bullet when I had a day off to see the doc anyway.
āCan I please see your rates noticeā
āNo, I am renting and my landlord does not provide oneā
āOk, then you have to first get the weight checked and pay $2.22 per kgā
Whiskey Tango Foxtrot ??!! For clean and sorted plastic?
Turned out they only charged me a single Dollar as it all went into the general waste for landfill.
Nothing for PLA and PETG only accepted in bottle or container shape ROFL
Whatās the point in trying the right thing for once if this country still refuses to recycle what other countries recycle for decadesā¦
In the normal bin it goes thenā¦
There are a lot of companies which are collecting the trash and make recycled roles out of it. For example: https://www.recyclingfabrik.com/ (they do not give you money, you get coins for their shop).
However, all companies I have checked so far require more or less a full sorted trash, so sorted by color as well for the most money back. And at the end, I have quite too many different roles to sort my complete trashā¦
Yeah itās pretty annoying how useless most local recycling is. Iāve heard a number of times that most of it just gets landfilled anyway because itās simply not worth recycling, or not able to be recycled in that particular location. But either it makes economic sense or it doesnāt. (If the government has to subsidize itā¦ it probably doesnāt.) Plastic never seems to work out, even with government helpātoo many different kinds, and itās nasty stuff.
Iām not worried about landfill space whatsoever (itās not such a big problem) but plastic ā ā ā ā getting into the environment and ruining everyone and everythingās health? Heck yeah.
On the other hand, modern landfills are pretty good about keeping this junk contained. Some others here have also pointed out that the amount of waste weāre producing doing this as a hobby dwarfs the waste put out from industrial work.
So I look forward to easier to recycle materials (partly for psychological reasons I guess) butā¦ meh, just toss it out in the trash. Bag it well so itās unlikely to go all over the place by accident if the main bag breaks (finally a use for some of those extra plastic bags). An accidental spill would probably be the main concern for adding more microplastic garbage to our environment.
Thereās a thread around here I started about truly biodegradable filamentā¦ pretty limited so far, but it is an option if youāre doing a lot of prototyping. I still havenāt tried it yet.
I checked with our local rubbish and recycling company to find out what option someone with a 3D printer has.
They were kind enough to point me to a depot dedicated to the collection of recyclable plastics.
Turns out though that not even this joint takes 3D printing leftovers - because there is no material code on the plastic.
Not that I consider a 80km round trip to make it happen logical to begin with.
My filament supplier surprised me by letting me know they would take my leftovers - if I can ensure it is sorted by material, colour does not matter they said.
Sadly they are nowhere near me either and shipping the stuff in AU just costs too much unless you you have a big print farm and can fill these one cubic metre bags and can score a good deal while at it.
Then I had the glorious idea to ask my local MP for help - by walking right into her office during āhappy hourā.
Had to wait a bit as that day I wasnāt the only resident in need.
Explained the plastic recycling issue and that there is lots of people with 3d printers facing the same issue.
I should have known something is off thanks to the weird look on her faceā¦
"What is a 3D printer? She asked when I was doneā¦
So much for trusting politicians to help ROFL
Not all is fully lost thoughā¦
Stated my problems in a forum I frequent and a user decided posting a reply is no good, a PM is better - donāt like that but found his suggesting rather interestingā¦
He works as a teacher and his school invested into a few 3D printers years ago, facing the same issue of waste.
But he made it a class project to build a small scale recycling line !
And they way they did it and what they got out is IMHO just amazing >
A table frame (no table top) got leftover stainless steel sheet screwed on the top.
Stainless steel because unlike aluminium it does not reflect much heat, instead it heats up - as you might know from stainless and aluminium things on your car or trailerā¦
A big teflon sheet for BBQ use to prevent accidental meltdown problems.
Their (sorted) failed prints, poop and all goes on there and 4 heat lamps are lowered and turned on.
After about 30 minutes they start turning the scrap over and mix it until it all is more or less evenly soft.
Ever seen these contraptions to make logs and bricks for your fireplace from recycled paper ?
They used the same approach, just without drain holes and they placed the brick forms into an over prior to use to get them to about 80ĀŗC.
Rubbish goes in and with a big lever it gets compressed into a plastic brick, if too thin a bit more is added after breaking the top open a bit.
Simple tongue and grove system to make them usable without mortar or glue.
Stacked up to form raised garden beds and suchā¦
Once a year they fire the line up and press up all leftovers in a single dayā¦