The Perpetual Plastic Project has launched their new campaign at the Netherlands music festival A Campingflight to Lowlands Paradise (Lowands, for short). Their message is simple: recycling bioplastics is something everyone can and should do.
Lowlands festival-goers got to see firsthand what The Perpetual Plastic Project recycling system was all about. They were able to recycle their own drinking cups into new products and provided insight into the actual recycling process – thereby creating more awareness and interest among consumers.
The system was designed to be as transparent as possible in order to allow consumers to see exactly how products are transformed into raw materials and then into a new product. The interest and enthusiasm generated leads to action and encourages consumers to recycle plastics themselves.
Former students at Delft Technical University designed the device. The cups are washed and dried at the first station, after which the cups are shredded, melted, and extruded as strings of bioplastic. Using digital input from 3D data, 3D parts are then created which are built by a 3D printer using a layer-by-layer process. To maximize interest at festivals, the printers are programmed to print visible souvenirs like personalized rings.
The intent of the Perpetual Plastic Project is to educate people on bioplastic’s recyclability and to promote a biobased economy for future generations.
