Proposal Summary:
I am proposing a small-scale plastic recycling machine that takes direct consumer plastic waste, shreds it, then melts and extrudes it into varying size beam molds. This is ideal for people that generate a lot of waste, are environmentally conscious, and are interested in building things of their own.
Audience:
Animas High School, Sean Woytek and Libby Cowles, AHS board members, the maker space, individual households.
Rationale:
The reason AHS, as well as individual homeowners, should implement my proposal is twofold. First off, plastic is a perpetually recyclable material, but only 8 percent of it ever gets recycled. When you put your bottle in the recycling bin, it is more likely to end up in a landfill than in a new bottle. This is especially now that China and other key recycling buyers have closed their doors to dirty American recycling. This machine allows you to guarantee that your plastic is getting recycled.
The second argument is based on the place between 4 and 13 million tons of our plastic ends up each year: the ocean. Once in the ocean, plastic has horrific effects on marine life, which is a major source of protein for 4.3 billion people - that’s right, more than half the people on earth rely on fish for at least 15% of their animal protein intake.
There’s a third argument as well, which is that it is simply friggin cool! You can save the planet, save space in your trash can, and save a trip to the hardware store if you use this technology to make plastic beams for your next construction project.
Project Outline:
I will build two machines, which can operate separately or as one larger assembly.
Machine #1: Shredder
This machine will be a shredder, consisting of a hopper, collection bin, geared shredder, optional size limiting mesh, and ac motor drive system. Your plastic recycling will go into the hopper, where the shredder will shred it into pieces less than 8 mm across (or whatever size turns out to work the best) based on the size of the mesh. It is only wise to feed one type of plastic at a time, as it will be indistinguishable once mixed and the best beams will most likely come from the use of one type of plastic. The shredded plastic will then fall into the collection buckets.
Machine #2: Extruder
The plastic shreds from the first machine will be fed into a hopper on the top of the second machine. The shreds will then be fed into a tube in which sits a large wood auger or compression screw of some sort. This screw will force the plastic shreds into the mouth of the tube, where heating elements will melt it. The melted plastic will then reach the end of the tube, where a threaded high-volume nozzle is attached to whatever mold you desire (most likely some sort of beam shape which will allow for the greatest range of applications).
Combined:
With my design, I will be able to mount machine #1 (shredder) on top of machine #1 (extruder) to give you a direct stream from bottle to beam. It remains to be seen if the shredder will be able to keep up the amount of plastic needed for the extruder.
I am proposing a small-scale plastic recycling machine that takes direct consumer plastic waste, shreds it, then melts and extrudes it into varying size beam molds. This is ideal for people that generate a lot of waste, are environmentally conscious, and are interested in building things of their own.
Audience:
Animas High School, Sean Woytek and Libby Cowles, AHS board members, the maker space, individual households.
Rationale:
The reason AHS, as well as individual homeowners, should implement my proposal is twofold. First off, plastic is a perpetually recyclable material, but only 8 percent of it ever gets recycled. When you put your bottle in the recycling bin, it is more likely to end up in a landfill than in a new bottle. This is especially now that China and other key recycling buyers have closed their doors to dirty American recycling. This machine allows you to guarantee that your plastic is getting recycled.
The second argument is based on the place between 4 and 13 million tons of our plastic ends up each year: the ocean. Once in the ocean, plastic has horrific effects on marine life, which is a major source of protein for 4.3 billion people - that’s right, more than half the people on earth rely on fish for at least 15% of their animal protein intake.
There’s a third argument as well, which is that it is simply friggin cool! You can save the planet, save space in your trash can, and save a trip to the hardware store if you use this technology to make plastic beams for your next construction project.
Project Outline:
I will build two machines, which can operate separately or as one larger assembly.
Machine #1: Shredder
This machine will be a shredder, consisting of a hopper, collection bin, geared shredder, optional size limiting mesh, and ac motor drive system. Your plastic recycling will go into the hopper, where the shredder will shred it into pieces less than 8 mm across (or whatever size turns out to work the best) based on the size of the mesh. It is only wise to feed one type of plastic at a time, as it will be indistinguishable once mixed and the best beams will most likely come from the use of one type of plastic. The shredded plastic will then fall into the collection buckets.
Machine #2: Extruder
The plastic shreds from the first machine will be fed into a hopper on the top of the second machine. The shreds will then be fed into a tube in which sits a large wood auger or compression screw of some sort. This screw will force the plastic shreds into the mouth of the tube, where heating elements will melt it. The melted plastic will then reach the end of the tube, where a threaded high-volume nozzle is attached to whatever mold you desire (most likely some sort of beam shape which will allow for the greatest range of applications).
Combined:
With my design, I will be able to mount machine #1 (shredder) on top of machine #1 (extruder) to give you a direct stream from bottle to beam. It remains to be seen if the shredder will be able to keep up the amount of plastic needed for the extruder.