Looking through the comment sections of YouTube videos about filament recycling, it is evident that people are thinking about recycling their 3D printing scraps. They, such as myself, would rather store them for an undetermined amount of time and an unforeseeable date when they can be recycled, or at least NOT thrown in the garbage, despite not knowing anyone who is doing it locally or affordably. Here are some examples of things people are commenting on Make Anything’s Making my OWN Filament from Failed Prints with the 3Devo Composer video:
User David Getchel says: “This shows great promise! A local community could get one and people just drop off their failed prints. Like bottle and can recycling. Get some money back and the recycled filament gets made and sold locally.”
“I have a full garbage bag of failed prints and discarded filament. Yes please.” explained user Ano Nony.
User Reed Bowman even commented “Every makerspace should have one. I’d love to have a local place where I could go recycle my PLA for reuse.”
User Kristupas Trečiokas asked “Can we send you some plastic and will you recycle it?.” To which the content creator, Make Anything, replied “Maybe eventually but I’m not prepared for that yet!.” User Suraj Dixit added “yeah that would be nice! I have too many failed prints…”
Even youth entering the 3D printing community are taking steps to recycle.
“I always keep my failed prints, in the hope that someday I can do something like this. Hopefully the cost goes down, considering I’m only 14 lol” wrote user A Tuna Can.
User C Joe commented “Same man I’m also 14 and I recycle all my failed prints.”
Others are not so persistent, but still are trying to find ways to recycle their filament within their means.
“Me: “whoa that’s awesome! let’s look at the price!”
Also me: “$7000 bucks.. ok. I’ll continue to throw away plastic.”
said user Riccardo M.
My Two Sent.’s: I find it very optimistic that people have taken to keeping their 3D printing scraps, as have I, to hopefully recycle them oneday, regardless of not knowing when that day will come. As time goes on and technology gets refined, plastic recycling shredders and extruders will decrease in price, which will hopefully spark an increase in not only interest, but action as well.
Make Anything. (March, 2019). Making my OWN Filament from Failed Prints with the 3Devo Composer. Retrieved from https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HxdfsnLaZDw