Residents of Thessaloniki, Greece are getting the chance to turn their plastic waste into functional 3D printed urban furniture in a project called Print Your City.
Rotterdam-based research and design studio The New Raw opened a Zero Waste Lab on the Greek city. They encourage locals to collect their household plastic waste, bring it into the lab and watch it transform. The end product are stylish, comfortable benches that double as plant pots.
“Plastic has a design failure,” said Panos Sakkas and Foteini Setaki, founders of The New Raw. “It is designed to last forever, but often we use it once and then throw it away. With Print Your City, we endeavour to show a better way of using plastic in long-lasting and high-value applications.”
To make this possible, the lab has on-site recycling facilities. There, they create flakes of plastic from waste and a robotic arm 3D prints the flakes. The goal of the project is to gradually close the plastic waste loop and improve public spaces.
Relax on a Bench/Plant Pot with a Stunning Sea View
The Zero Waste Lab is part of Coca-Cola’s Zero Waste Future program in Greece. They hope that by the end of the project, four tons of plastic will be transformed into attractive urban furniture.
Along with taking their waste to be recycled, locals can learn all about the recycling process and the circular economy.
They can also tweak the bench prototype to create a colourful, custom-built design which could end up in town. Since December 2018, over 3,000 designs have been submitted.
Hanth Park, in the center of the city, will be the first place where Print Your City pieces are put to use. Want to learn more about the project? Visit the Print Your City website for more information.
For more on 3D-printed furniture, check out these stories:
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