Precious Plastic –
transforming waste into valuable products.

 

Tell us a little bit about the background and the aim of your project… 

To date, only 9 percent of the plastic waste ever generated has been recycled, and only 14 per cent is collected for recycling now, according to the UN*. For 6 years now, Precious Plastic is on a mission to boost these numbers with a bottom-up approach bringing recycling technologies and knowledge in the hands of everyone, all open-source for free. Machines and techniques empower people around the world to start recycling plastic and create new financial value from a ubiquitous free resource, plastic waste. The machines and workspace are specifically designed and developed using universal materials and basic tools that are available all over the world. A modular design allows users to adapt the machines to their specific contexts. Blueprints, detailed instruction videos and the download-kit are shared open source online for free. This is all the basic information people need to build their own machines and start a micro plastic factory, anywhere in the world. Entrepreneurs across the world can set up small scale productions to create valuable things, beautiful products, new raw material, clean up their neighborhood and start their own business. “It’s not tools, machines or technologies that will fix our plastic problem. It requires a shift in our mindset to see plastic waste as valuable resource” (Dave Hakkens, Founder). We don’t believe in techno-utopian, fix-it-all, dream technology. Precious Plastic is a combination of people, machines, platforms, and knowledge to create an alternative global recycling system. Small steps, multiplied by millions. That’s where we can win our battle.