3D Filament From Recycled Plastics

If you are excited about the growth of 3D printing, but worried about the potential environmental impact of all that plastic filament, some sustainable solutions are on the way. Dimension Polymers, for example, has developed a 3D printing filament made from recycled plastic.

Dimension hopes to address a growing environmental problem in the 3D printing industry. The consumption of 3D printing material (most of which is made from virgin plastic) is now at around 30 million pounds, and will reach 250 million pounds by 2020. Producing a typical 3D printer cartridge creates roughly 8 pounds of carbon emissions.

The Chicago-based start-up was formed by Gerald Galazin and Mark Sherman in June 2014. The company has already worked closely with manufacturers, recyclers and end users to beta test the filament, and is now preparing to bring its first product to market.

The company’s initial product offering is black ABS available in 1.75mm and 3.00mm diameters. It will work with all FDM printers. The filament packaging is made from recycled material, and can be recycled via a typical home or office program. It costs $30 for a 0.75kg spool, or roughly $40 per kilogram.

Dimension has also launched a KickStarter campaign to raise funds for bringing the material to market.

The filament now carries the Kingfisher Recycled Material Logo from SCS Global, a third-party environmental, sustainability, and food quality certification firm.

There are other efforts underway to increase the use of environmentally sustainable filament. The Ethical Filament Foundation, for example, is a program for providing recycled plastic for filament production while simultaneously offering jobs to waste pickers in developing countries.

The Cruncher, meanwhile, lets users recycle failed prints into usable plastic pellets. The Filabot can recycle used plastic into new spools of filament, while the similar RecycleBot turns plastic milk jugs into filament.

Source: Plastics Today