14/04/2025
Such an exciting development for 3D printing! Can’t wait to see one of these micro-centres in the Hunter Valley!
The first commercial Plastics Filament MICROfactorie, designed by the UNSW SMaRT Centre, is now operating at Renew IT in Sydney, offering a new solution to Australia’s growing e-waste problem.
While the global average for yearly e-waste disposal is 7kg per person, the average Australian produces 20kg of e-waste a year and most of this ends up in landfill.
The newly launched MICROfactorie will work to change this trajectory by recycling hard plastics from e-waste items, like old printers and computers, into the filament needed for 3D printing and manufacturing – a product increasingly in demand and, currently, almost entirely imported to Australia.
“Many of the materials needed for our future needs are finite in supply,” says Professor Veena Sahajwalla, Founder and Director of the SMaRT Centre. “Waste itself can, and must, be seen as a resource with economic and social benefits as we strive to be more sustainable.”
Read the full story here: https://www.unsw.edu.au/newsroom/news/2025/03/world-first-UNSW-designed-recycling-facility-launch?utm_source=facebook&utm_medium=social
