realcleverscience:

mothernaturenetwork:

3D printers could recycle old plastic bottles
Kickstarter project aims to plastic recycling affordable for anyone with a computer and 3-D printer so they can cheaply create 3-D copies.

Very happy to see this. 

It was one of the first ideas I had when first learning about 3DP a few years back, and I’m pretty sure I’ve written about it on RCS before. (I remember having a great conversation with one of the speakers at MakerFaire about this.) Anyways, it’s taken awhile to get moving, but I’m happy to see people are working on it.

And I’ll be honest, I don’t find this particular contraption too appealing. I think it needs more R&D to perfect and make the process a bit easier. But that’s ok. That’s how these things get moving. And considering the potential oodles of cash to be made by cornering a great part of the emerging 3DP market, I’m sure that R&D will be forthcoming, as will some great upgrades.

And, of course, a real goal should be to use biodegradable plastic. How great would it be if in a few years from now you could take some of your food scraps - perhaps from the food grown in your kitchen-greenhouse! - and convert them into biodegradable plastic for yourreplicator, I mean 3D Printer. 

Oh yes, the future is on its way.

Why aren’t people more excited about this kind of thing? 

This is awesome.