Plastic recycling machine on its way to Jersey

Wednesday 25 July 2018

Plastic Free Jersey are expecting the delivery of plastic recycling machine to use as an educational tool all around the island.

The Precious Plastic machine shreds plastic waste which is then shaped into a line of plastic before being heated and injected into a mould.

Precious Plastic, an online community, devoted to find a solution to plastic pollution came up with the idea for the machine. Launched in 2013 by Dave Hakkens the community relies on dozens of people sharing contributions from all around the world on how to end the plastic endemic.

One of the ideas the community came up with was that of a machine that would enable just about anyone to recycle their plastic waste into whatever they want. The machines are affordable and can easily be built from basic materials with basic tools. The community has made the blueprints and tutorials for the machines available for free on their website, for anyone all over the world to access and use. It also published a number over 30 tutorials to guide people through the building process.

Video: Precious Plastic was launched in 2013 in the Netherlands by Dave Hakkens.

The machines include a shredder, an extruder, which transforms the plastic flakes into a line of plastic, an injection machine to heat the plastic into a mold and an oven for larger projects.

While local campaign Plastic Free Jersey didn't have the ability to built such machines, they have reached out to the Sea Monkey Project, launched by siblings Sydney and Indi Steenland. The duo, who lives on a boat who gave its name to the project with their parents, created The Sea Monkey Project after speaking to people living on Indonesian Islands.

They decided to start building plastic recycling machines using the Precious Plastic open source blueprints. They then deliver to towns and villages in Indonesia and other parts coastal parts of South East Asia.

On their Facebook page, they wrote: "Our goal is to create cottage industries that not only turn the plastics that would normally end up in the ocean into something useful for the community, but to also become an educational tool in reducing the use of plastic packaging, especially single use plastics."

Thanks to a grant from the Ecology Trust Fund, Plastic Free Jersey was able to order a set of machines which the duo recently completed, personalised with a lighthouse, similar to Corbière. 

The team, and Eco Active Jersey, will be using the machines as an educational tool to show islanders how plastic pollution can be curbed through recycling. The campaign aims to take the machines into the island's schools and to show children how one bottle top can be turned into something else. The machines could also be brought to local events to raise even more awareness.

Sheena Brockie, of Plastic Free Jersey, explained: "If you have a bottle top, which is not recyclable in Jersey, and you are able to turn into something else, it's better than nothing. But if you have a single-use that you just throw away, that is where it is not ok. 

"With the machines, we are hoping to get more people involved and to get them to see how plastics can be reused and turned into something else."

As Precious Plastic enable the users to turn their plastic flakes into whatever mould they can think of - creations include bottles, planters, homeware objects, jewels, building material or even art - Plastic Free Jersey also hopes that some islanders might even decide to build their own machine. 

Pictured: The extrusion and injection machines. (Precious Plastic)