1

Hi All,

So I’ve been searching (and have found a few threads both on here and many other forums) for someone who will take away my waste filament both from failed prints, unwanted prototypes and odd bits from waste extrusion (brims, support material, drips when heating, etc…) and so far the discussions seem to mostly be based on people reusing their material for making new filament and printing with it again.

This has been achieved to some extent some by home extruders but involves being able to granulate the waste and even then mix with new material before extruding into a reel. These also seem to vary in success due to the quality and reliability of the machine not always producing consistent filament which is needed for good prints. It also involves a high amount of investment without a huge gain. Also, the focus of these machines seems to be making filament more cheaply from granules rather than a green option.

SO the only even slightly related thing which I have found is a box from Terracycle which involves paying for the privilege of not throwing waste material into landfill. I understand the complexities involved in recycling these materials if nothing else just for the number of materials involved and being able to identify and separate them, but can’t believe this is the only company to even tentatively offer such a service.

So, I have 2 questions from this:

Is there a service which fills my need to responsibly dispose of waste material?

If not would there be an interest in a ‘crowdfunded’ recycling where people can send (for example - please don’t hold me to this!!) a shoebox full of recyclable material and pay £10 to contribute to the cost of the box?

The Terracycle page is here https://www.terracycle.co.uk/en-UK/zero\_waste\_boxes/3d-printing-materials

They also mention a company sponsoring the service, does anyone know of a company who might be interested in sponsoring (or even subsidising) it and have the contacts to be able to get it in motion? I’d be more than happy to discuss it with them if someone has the contact details.