Precious plastic?

Precious Plastic is a global open source project that has been around since 2013. It produces new products from recycled plastic on a small scale. The project is based on machines and tools that can shred, melt and inject plastic. Over the years, small workshops have sprung up all over the world, all trying to make a contribution to reducing plastic waste. Workshops have sprung up from Cape Town to Nepal to Melbourne. The information needed to get started, such as codes, drawings and 3D models, is available to everyone free of charge.

1 - PET

polyethylene terephthalate

bottles
packaging
slides, ...


material is "stable"
Not recyclable: melt is too sensitive! 🥵

2 – HDPE / PE-HD

High-density polyethylene

shampoo bottles (also PP)
bottle caps
cleaning bottles, ...


material is "soft"
Easy to recycle 👌

3 - PVC

polyvinyl chloride

window frame
camping furniture
floor coverings, ...


material is "hard"
Not recyclable: melting fumes are toxic! ☠️🤢

4 - LDPE / PE-LD

Low-density polyethylene

slides
Bucket
Lid, ...


Material is "very soft" & "flexible"
Easy to recycle 👌

5 - PP

polypropylene

flower pots
All kinds of boxes
Things with foil connections, ...


Material is "stable" & "elastic"
Easy to recycle 👌.

6 - PS

polystyrene

yogurt cups (also PP)
packaging
coffee lid
ice cream spoon, ...


Material is "hard" & "brittle"
Easy to recycle 👌

7 - Others

ABS, PLA, Nylon...

ABS housing
PLA 3D printing
ABS is easy to recycle 👌


PC is not recyclable: melting fumes are toxic! ☠️🤢