A design studio is using 3D printing to transform abandoned synthetic fishing nets left around Greece’s coastline into useful 3D printed objects.
The New Raw‘s latest project is called Second Nature. It worked with fishermen and divers to find these abandoned nets, which are some of the deadliest forms of ocean waste, because they sit on the seabed and can ensnare sea creatures. The studio’s goal by 3D printing using this ocean trash is to remind us that plastic has a disastrous effect on the environment.
It’s not their first effort to bring attention to waste using 3D printing. In January, it launched a project in Greece which created 3D printed furniture from recycled plastic for locals to enjoy.
Panos Sakkas and Foteini Setaki, founders of The New Raw, told Design Boom: “By nature, seashell geometry suits the layer-by-layer methods of 3D-printing technologies. Rather than replicating their natural shapes, the 3D-printed version represents their geographically displaced entity, and embodies current environmental challenges.”
Turning Plastic Waste into Beautiful Yet Cautionary Art
Collected fishing nets are first sorted into their different materials and processed. This takes place at The New Raw’s 3D printing lab in Galaxidi where the materials are turned into colorful 3D printing filament.
The filaments are then used to create not just cautionary seashells sculptures, but also a range of homewares such as vases and bowls using an Ultimaker printer.
The New Raw explains on its website that it is giving a second life to previously dumped plastic which results in a sustainable, recycled, circular solution to the waste problem.
Second Nature is an ongoing project and The New Raw has announced that another collection of 3D printed objects will be launched in the coming months.
Source: Design Boom
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