The New Raw is a research & design studio based in Rotterdam, Netherlands, focusing on recycling plastic waste using 3D printing. Working both on commission, as well initiating their own projects, The New Raw's research covers areas such as marine plastic pollution, decentralised production methods, and circular economy systems.
Recently, Print Your City was launched, a project that uses large scale 3D printing to transform a city's plastic waste into meaningful art & functional objects that enhance the environment, rather than take away from it. For example, the "XXX bench" appeared in Amsterdam, Nertherlands, which was 3D printed from the average annual plastic waste of two Amsterdammers (a whopping 46kg!).
In Thessaloniki, Greece, The Zero Waste Lab was started, where residents could recycle their plastic waste into 3D printed street furniture. The 3D printed street furniture was designed with extra functions that promote a healthy and environment-friendly lifestyle across the city. For example, each bench can feature a bike rack, a mini gym, a bookcase, or a planted tree, to name just a few.
This is truly inspiring stuff. It is great that projects focusing on reducing waste, recycling and additive manufacturing processes such as 3D printing are gaining more and more traction across the world. However, there is some debate as to whether designers should focus more on recycling, or perhaps more on the development of new materials that can replace harmful plastics in the first place. Still, the unfortunate reality of our world is that single-use plastics made from fossil fuels are widespread. As such, projects that focus on reducing waste and recycling this plastic (thereby preventing it from polluting our oceans) are necessary and can be run in parallel with other projects that focus on new materials.
Projects such as these are what inspired me to start 3Dprintshed, which gives people a way to buy custom 3D-printed metal home decor that is produced using only renewable materials and energy. Although at 3Dprintshed I only use additive manufacturing methods and as such have very little waste, I am always on the look-out for ways to improve things further. Having read up more on the recycling projects of The New Raw, I am inspired to find a way to recycle PLA-based filaments (I know they are Eco-friendly, but it would still be good to recycle as much as possible!). If anyone knows of an affordable way to recycle PLA-based filament (e.g. offcuts, failed prints, support material, etc.) into something useful, then I would love to hear from you!
I am always on the lookout to showcase artists, businesses and projects that have 3D printing and Eco-friendly production processes at their heart. If you know of any that you think would be a good match then please don't hesitate to get in touch. Thanks for looking.