Admin: Created page with "← Issue 1 {{Infobox article | issue = 1 | section = Tools | date = September 2026 }} [https://preciousplastic.com preciousplastic.com] Recycling plastic normally needs an industrial plant costing millions, so in most of the world there is nowhere for waste plastic to go and it is worth nothing. A Dutch designer, Dave Hakkens, redrew that machinery small enough to fit in a workshop and gave the plans away. Four interconnected machines handle the p..."

2026-09-02T08:40:40Z

Created page with "← Issue 1 {{Infobox article | issue = 1 | section = Tools | date = September 2026 }} [https://preciousplastic.com preciousplastic.com] Recycling plastic normally needs an industrial plant costing millions, so in most of the world there is nowhere for waste plastic to go and it is worth nothing. A Dutch designer, Dave Hakkens, redrew that machinery small enough to fit in a workshop and gave the plans away. Four interconnected machines handle the p..."

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[[Issue_1|← Issue 1]]
{{Infobox article
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| date = September 2026
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[https://preciousplastic.com preciousplastic.com]

Recycling plastic normally needs an industrial plant costing millions, so in most of the world there is nowhere for waste plastic to go and it is worth nothing. A Dutch designer, Dave Hakkens, redrew that machinery small enough to fit in a workshop and gave the plans away.

Four interconnected machines handle the process. A shredder grinds bottles, caps and scrap into flakes. An extruder melts the flakes and pushes out a continuous stream, which is how you get beams and filament. An injection moulder melts flakes and shoots them into a mould, which is how you get small objects. A press melts flakes flat in an oven into sheets you can cut like plywood.

The drawings, the part lists, the code and the video tutorials are all online for free, the machines are made of steel and parts you can buy in most countries, and anyone who can weld can build one. People then run them as small businesses, collecting local waste and selling what they make. About two thousand such workshops are now registered with them.

The organisation itself is a Dutch non-profit paid for by memberships and donations. Its most recent figures cover 2024 and come from the 184 workshops that reported, roughly a tenth of the network, and count 1,400 tonnes recycled in 56 countries by 3,935 people.

''Site read 31 August 2026.''

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== e-NABLE ==
[https://enablingthefuture.org enablingthefuture.org]

A prosthetic hand from a clinic costs thousands and a child outgrows one every year, so most children who need one never get one.

The hands here are printed on ordinary desktop 3D printers out of plastic and assembled with cords and elastic. They are mechanical, worn strapped to the forearm, and the fingers close by pulling on the cords, a design copied from a cable and pulley hand made in the 1800s.

The design files are public domain, free to download, and includes a map for distribution: someone who needs a hand finds a volunteer near them who owns a printer, that volunteer prints it, assembles it, fits it and hands it over. The recipient pays nothing.

It started when an artist, Ivan Owen, made a big mechanical hand for a costume party, put the video online, and got an email from Richard, a carpenter in South Africa who had lost his fingers and had been quoted USD 10,000 for a single replacement finger. They built one for a five-year-old boy, printed the next version because he would grow out of it, and put the file online in January 2013. Professor Jon Schull then set up the community and the map.

By its own count there are now about 40,000 volunteers in over 100 countries and 10,000 to 15,000 people who have received a hand.

''Site read 31 August 2026.''

[[Category:Issue 1]][[Category:Tools]]

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