Sustainability in 3D Printing

~ by Kelli Lee on October 31st, 2016

Is 3D Printing Really The Green Industrial Revolution Though?

If you wonder or maybe haven't noticed that all of our products are 3D printed, this blog should clear up the air. There have been many articles, blog posts, etc published regarding the implications, good and bad, of 3D printing, but what is the bottom line? Earlier in the year we published the Blog Post: Join us in Greener 3D Printing, outlining what we here at Pass The Piece see as sustainable practices in 3D printing.

Out of the gate 3D printing is sustainable in and of itself. A tiny fraction of 3D printing facts:

• 3D printing increases efficiency and reduces waste to near zero
• Applications of 3D printing range from aerospace, medical devices, building houses, ordinary household items, smoking accessories, car accessories, life saving necessities, personal collectors items, artistic expressions and the list goes on!
• General Electric announced a project with the Department of Energy that uses 3D printed turbines in a process that could make desalinated seawater 20 percent less costly to produce.
• 3D printable filaments come in a variety of options, including biodegradable materials, 100% recyclable & already recycled materials, compostable materials & more!
• Filaments (printing materials) are being made out of everything from Algae, recycled wood, recycled plastic/soda bottles, recycled car dashboards, mud, you name it!

What Does Sustainable 3D Printing Look Like?

By its very nature 3D printing is a sustainable technology empowering 3D Systems printers to produce affordable products efficiently one layer at a time using only the necessary amount of material required for each part with near zero waste in an energy efficient process. - 3D Systems

Dimension Polymers, founded in 2014 by Mark Sherman and Gerald Galazin, has developed the first professionally engineered 3D filament from recycled plastics! Filament is what we use to make 3D printed objects, which then enter the consumer market. Dimension polymers is proud to announce their certification by SCS Global approving their products as certified recycled materials. This is amazing news for startups, ourselves, and existing establishments alike that want to participate in informing and encouraging our consumer culture about the importance and significance of recycling plastics!

Innovation should be planet-friendly. By 2020 there will be over 250 million pounds of plastics used by 3D printers worldwide. To mitigate the environmental impact, Dimension Polymers has put sustainability first. - Dimension Polymers

Refil is another one of a few companies on the market today, making a statement with this emerging science, offering filaments manufactured from recycled soda bottles/ plastic bottles, recycled car dashboards & more! As part of this company's 100% recycling model they also strictly only use recyclable components, e.g., cardboard spools already composed of 100% post consumer recycled cardboard that can again be recycled by the next consumer in its new life.

A common similarity between many filaments available today engineered with recycled materials is the color cannot necessarily be guaranteed. Ordering red from the same supplier 5 times could result in 5 shades or variations of red, simply because each batch of filament has its own unique tone directly related to the materials being recycled to make that filament in that batch.

As some may see this being an unreliable or even a potentially negative consequence from the consumer view, we believe the contrary. It is important, as an individual and as a business, to raise awareness about the necessity for recycling not only plastics but every recyclable material out there. If you cannot recycle or reuse it, find a way, because you can. Overcoming consumer objection in this scenario relies on clearly defining and relaying the message behind recycling. What does it take and what does it mean to have a batch of a very specific color maintain that color? What are additives and the effects of color additives? What is the process of recycling materials? Are color dyes toxic? These are all very important questions when buying a product, any product. You, as a consumer, should be asking these question.

Your individual perception may be your reality but at the same time that may be an alternate reality to many others. There are clear, undeniable facts surrounding you, right now, indicating the dire need for recycling participation and general awareness. As a consumer, it should be understood that your hard earned money, because we all work hard for it, directly influences everyone from small startups to giant corporations, your brothers, sisters, neighbors and people across the world you have never met and may never have the chance to meet.

Believe this to be true next time you think that there is no possible way, you on your own can fight that cause you are so overwhelmingly passionate about. Because you can, you can do it. Each of us individually make a statement every time we complete 1 single transaction, whether that be online, on our mobile phones, in a physical store or we give money to friends and family for birthdays and anniversaries, donate to a charity, decide to not donate to a charity, the list goes on but the bottom line stays the same. When you swipe your debit card, pay with your phone, hand over cash, plan a wedding, celebrate a birthday, purchase a toothbrush, you are making a statement about what you support, what you are in favor of. Even if you, in the moment, do not recognize these transactions as anything more than ordinary grocery shopping, they are much, much larger than just that.

Informed consumers are a powerful force to be reckoned with. We create enormous communities of individuals, activists, lobbyists, fighting for a common cause and their actions are deliberate but more importantly they are united.

Statisticbrain calculates 1.8 billion bottles of Coca-Cola are sold each day. 1.8 billion EACH DAY. Now imagine, in a theoretical scenario, if only half of that, 900 million individuals, decided they were no longer going to support this giant corporation until more sustainable and environmentally friendly practices were put in place, whatever the community deemed those more efficient, less wasteful practices to be. No more buying a single Coke product, even just temporarily, for ONE DAY. Coke currently has the largest soft drink market share at 26% with Pepsi coming in second at 15%. Does every person buying a Coca-Cola product in this very moment understand the weight of that seemingly tiny transaction? Someone at the gas station right now, or driving through McDonalds right now... If they did make informed decisions on every seemingly small transaction, would these numbers be the same? Would the market be different? Will we ever know? Maybe.

What we cannot forget or ignore any longer is that consumers drive supply because they, you, control demand. When you purchase something, anything, 1 thing or 100 things, you are saying, yes I support this. I support this company, this product, this corporation's sustainable practices, all the in's and out's, but do you actually support all of those processes in relation to that 1 product? Do you know every single process related to that one product? Is it necessary to know every single process, cause and effect? Well in a perfect world, probably. However that seems somewhat unreasonable considering not everyone has access to everything at every point in time. However, with the internet we all have more knowledge at our fingertips than we could interpret in a lifetime, why not use it?

You and I determine if every batch of recycled filament being a slight variation of a chosen color is good or bad. We weigh the options, consequences, decisions, motivations, environmental and economical aspects and we make a choice on where and how we spend our money.

As we at Pass The Piece are constantly striving for innovative environmentally friendly alternatives, products, ideas, implementations, etc. We purchase recycled filaments with no added dyes because that is what we believe aligns with our vision. Our products are and will always be made from recycled materials, 100% recyclable or biodegradable. As sustainable practices are our driving force, we consistently mull over innovative technologies and share our knowledge and resources with all of you, everyone. Because knowledge is power and our goal is to empower the consumer.

When we purchase these filaments, we want to speak volumes, then when you purchase our products you carry and share that message, even if you do not recognize it as such. We hope to educate, inform and contribute to consumers making informed decisions, uniting with those passionate about sustainable practices and shaping the future of not only a global consumer market but the future of our Earth. We hope you will join us.

#3dprinting

~ Pass The Piece Team

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