Reply To: 3D printing and the enviroment #teamseas

[tankkommanderParticipant 6421xp 2]

In the UK recycling is very patchy in different areas. Where I live they will only take plastic bottle. ALL other plastic, even if marked as recyclable, goes in the household waste to either be incinerated or to land fill.

Our hobby has a BIG problem with waste. A company like GW, which manufactures in the UK and has stores, could set up a return system for GW marked sprue plastic. This is not really practical for other companies.

Most manufacturers COULD reduce or alter packaging to be more environmentally friendly. As nobody talks about this there is not pressure to get it done, unless governments actually tax single use plastic heavily or outright ban it.

The entire hobby is about pushing new plastic products. There is no incentive to discuss this issue. 3D printing, if done at hubs, could help reduce waste. Home printing is just adding to the problem as people will print more than they need, and won’t have facilities to recycle waste.