Landfill sites and rubbish dumps are complete eyesores. They’re also harmful to both the environment and our health. In India, workers are paid less than one dollar a day to sort through and separate trash before going off to various scrap dealers. Protoprint is one of the organizations in India that is trying to make an improvement to the issues they are facing as a nation regarding the amount of plastic waste pollution there is and the poor conditions that waste pickers have to work in.
The thing that is different about Protoprint is that not only is its focus is on making the plastic filament for 3D printers from trash, but it’s also partnered with a cooperative that is wholly owned by waste pickers (SWaCH). As a joint venture, they have managed to create a low-cost filament production plant in a local waste site in Pune which is operated directly by the SWaCH waste pickers. Here they pick the right materials to be turned into 3D printer ink to sell then on to Indian or international businesses.
The market for the 3D printing filament is growing quickly as the use of this technology increases. Statistics suggest that this particular market will see a growth of around 266% over the next five years and be worth more than £1 billion, so it’s a good business to be in the right now. One thing for companies who purchase the filament to bear in mind is that ethical filament will always be less than commercial filament as operation costs are lower and resources free.
ReFlow is another company who are involved in the 3D printing filament area and has just launched a Kickstarter campaign to raise £23,000 to be able to introduce its ideas to the world. The Amsterdam-based company will first launch the product in their hometown and then look to branch out and offer it worldwide, but they are still trying to produce quality filament at the moment, so only time will tell as to how much of success this will be.
It’s not an easy problem to solve and one that the whole industry suffers from – how to make a filament out of waste plastic without any issues. But, Protoprint is working with scientists from the National Chemical Laboratory to try and get around these and also has the backing of being funded by a government grant. The company currently has 4,000kg of orders from companies in the UK, US, Germany, and India, so an operation that is certainly going global very soon. Just watch this space.
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