Australian Scientists Invent New Technology for Recycling Rigid Plastic Waste into 3D Printing Material
In collaboration with Renew IT, a technology asset management company based in Australia and New Zealand, researchers at the Sustainable Materials Research and Technology (SMaRT) Centre at the University of New South Wales (UNSW) have developed a device known as Plastics Filament MICROfactorieTM Technology. This device is installed at Renew IT’s facility in Sydney.
Plastic waste from computers turned into 3D printing material – (Photo: Sky News Australia).
Professor Veena Sahajwalla, founder and director of SMaRT, stated that their device can help convert rigid plastic found in all current electronic hardware into raw materials for 3D printing.
“3D printing is a fantastic technology that is rapidly being adopted, but unfortunately, until now, the raw materials for 3D printing have still depended on virgin plastics made from petrochemicals,” she explained.
Meanwhile, according to James Lancaster, CEO and founder of Renew IT, electronic items such as televisions, computers, and printers are being produced in increasing quantities and often have shorter life cycles.
At the end of their life, the industry solution has been to send them to landfills. As a result, their new technology addresses two issues, not only reducing the production of virgin plastics by creating 3D filament from waste but also preventing rigid plastics from ending up in landfills.
“By recovering high-quality plastic from electronic waste for re-manufacturing, we can help organizations control Scope 3 emissions (all other indirect emissions that occur in the value chain from sources not owned or controlled by the company) and promote domestic manufacturing,” Mr. Lancaster emphasized.
