Precious Plastic

There is this guy Dave Hakkens. His website is preciousplastic.com
He has a solution to the plastic problem.

I know that many permies are not keen on plastic, the reality is that there is a lot of it.
He's designed and built several open source machines (now on version 2) to recycle plastic and to make products from it.  

All of the blueprints, how to's and information you need to make a small recycling factory and products are online, FOR FREE!
This is a mature solution which is workable from the 1st to the 3rd world.




If you like solutions, (even if this isn't your solution) please go to his site preciousplastic.com and spread the word!

Another video with a bit more depth.

Thanks for sharing!  Will be checking out the website

That is remarkable.  Can't believe I had not heard of it.  Will do what I can to spread the word.  Thanks!

So I wanted to resurrect this topic because https://www.preciousplastic.com/ is still going. While the machines to make it possible are just a little too expensive for personal use, but it could make a good business for someone who's looking for an opportunity or good for a community to invest in and use. https://www.preciousplastic.com/solutions/machines/overview They do have starter kits https://www.preciousplastic.com/starterkits/overview Or you can look at the machines, molds, raw materiel, etc at the Bazar https://bazar.preciousplastic.com/machines/


Also they are looking for a new CEO as seen in this 2023 video look and ask for a CEO


In this world where you can't get away from plastic I think this is a great idea. Getting recycling into personal hands rather than just municipal.

This is their video celebrating 10 years of Precious Plastic in October


Even if you can't afford the machines there is a way to help support this movement by buying recycled products ( furniture, household items, jewelry, etc) that they call the Bazar
https://bazar.preciousplastic.com/products/ As well as there is a donate button on their main site if you want to help but don't have room for the machines and can't afford the machines.

Hey all!
I own & operate a Precious Plastic workspace with my wife and totally agree that this is a perfect project for an intentional community.

One would never expect Permaculture and plastic to go so well together! Yet waste is just an unutilized resource, right? Value renewables (and stuff that can be recycled indefinitely), integrate instead of separate, start with small solutions, and stack the functions high... The Precious Plastic approach nails all of these permaculture principles!

And I love grabbing single-use containers that just might be shipped overseas before getting dumped in the ocean, and turning them into long-lasting, beautiful, functional goods. After a couple of years of crawling through the learning curve of this process, I've just scored my first wholesale manufacturing order!

We collect containers in our neighborhood from a bike, saving them from a dubious fate with diesel-dependent industrialists, and take them back to our workspace in a converted 30-foot camper trailer. We have a Precious Plastic style shredder, injector, and extruder, along with the board-pressing system, a CNC machine, and/or an array of woodworking tools to transform this material into an assortment of products.

The next thing we're gonna need, is help. It's just us 2 running the whole project, along with raising a little one. We've been talking about hiring someone, but we also want to relocate.

Our goal beyond this artisan recycling project is the standard permaculture homesteading dream, preferably in a community of like-minded friends.

The quickest route to making our dream come true would be to partner with an established community. This eco-friendly recycling system is a perfect way to give back to the greater community while creating a bunch of ethically profitable work.

Are there any ecovillages out there interested in exploring a partnership?

We're currently near Vancouver British Columbia; been talking about moving to the States, or even further south. The people & the climate seem more important than the name of the place.

Short of partnering with an established community, it would be great to expand this business with people who also have this permaculture-land dream. This business would be a great mechanism to fund a community. Can use it to make building materials for the community too!

You can see what we do on Insta at Sustainable_ArtisanBC or on our website at SustainableArtisan.com.

Anyone interested..?

Thanks Jeff for letting us know more. It's great idea, hopefully some people with an intentional community will get in touch with you about partnering.