Hewlett Packard (HP) and Ford, headquartered in the United States, are repurposing the waste of 3D printers and tooth aligners, into automobile components. Prints - made with HP 3D printers stationed at D2C Invasilign’s company, SmileDirectClub - are transformed into plastic pellets by the recycling company, Lavergne. They are then injection molded into clips by auto parts manufacturer, ARaymond, at a lower cost than the originals.
Scientists from Nanyan Technological University (NTU), Singapore, are transforming discarded durian peels into antibacterial bandages. Glycerol is added to cellulose powder from the chopped and freeze-dried peels, subsequently creating strips of hydrogel bandaging.
Vollebak, headquartered in the United Kingdom, has transformed firefighter bunker gear and bulletproof vests (both composed of hard to recycle materials) into warm, resistant and fireproof Garbage Sweaters. Riccardo Cenedella, italian designer, is behind the “It’s a Carpet Matter” project , which recycles synthetic carpeting into functional tables, saving them from the dump.
Colombian jewelry brand, Aysha Bilgrami, works with silver obtained via X ray, utilising chemical and enzymatic processes, rather than mineral extraction.
Possible course of action:
circular economies stimulate increasingly intersectoral initiatives that entail inventive zero-waste products and materials, making use of these partnerships to transform one company’s waste products into something precious and useful to another, fulfilling the objective of circularity.
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