Creativity doesn’t come without a cost. If you care about the environment, your mind might naturally start to wonder just how big of an impact 3D printing has when it comes to plastic pollution.
The downside is that this hobby results in lots of wasted material. As reported by Filamentive, a whopping third (33%) of 3D prints end up as waste. What’s more, around 70% of 3D printer users don’t recycle their waste.
The upside is that a huge amount of that waste can be recycled and reused. What’s more, the future looks bright with advances in tech leading to improved recycling and a more efficient circular economy.
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Some of the things that you can do with your 3D printer’s plastic waste include granulating it, donating it, and melting it down.
Granulating the waste makes it reusable for the 3D printing process. The upside is that creators and businesses save money by reusing existing material, instead of it ending up in landfills.
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Another thing you can do is donate your scrap materials to schools and colleges, which likely have 3D printers. If your waste materials are actually reusable, you can help your local community out this way.
Alternatively, you can melt your scrap to make molds for crafting or to sculpt new designs.
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One huge issue that might lead to more inefficiency and plastic waste is how your 3D printer is set up.
A recent piece on XDA emphasizes how your printer’s factory settings might be the cause of greater amounts of scrap. The problem is that factory profiles favor “reliable results over efficient material use.”
However, as you learn the ins and outs of your machine, you can then find ways to make better use of your resources.
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“Your printer’s default profiles weren’t designed for your room, filament, or typical projects. They have to work in dry offices, damp basements, warm spare rooms, and many other environments the manufacturer can’t predict. They also have to work for people who may not yet know what half the slicer settings do. That means leaving a comfortable margin wherever a leaner setting could cause a failed print,” XDA explains.
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Have a great day, and keep being creative!
“Those margins make sense when you’re just getting started. A manufacturer would rather have someone waste a little extra filament than risk a first print lifting, sagging, or coming loose from the plate. The problem is that the same profile often stays in place long after the user has learned what the machine can handle. At that point, a beginner-friendly safeguard can quietly become a permanent source of waste.”
