Hi Hinloopen, a great question! I represent Fila-cycle.co.uk too and we have been active in this area for a good few years. It would be very interesting to find out. We currently use the existing waste streams, e.g. not from households but from the industries themselves. However we have experimented with a retail collection facility. Let’s see if you get any answers…
Scott
great questions! we are trying to start filament recycling in Australia and are interested in this area too!
Thanks for the support!
I’m following the principles of Business Model Generation, in order to fill all of the aspects of setting up a new business with many possibilities, and I’m trying to determine the most viable combinations. However, the input from potential future customers is vital to the recycling model succeeding, so this is where I’m trying to gather that.
Cheers,
Jochem.
Hi Scott! I don’t know if you’re able to, but can you hint towards wherein the facility succeeded or failed? It could be useful! By the way, I’m doing this project completely out in the open, and I’m not interested in protecting it for my own gains. I just want to live in a healthier world, which will benefit me in the end as well.
Hi Jochem,
At the moment our core business collects from recycled plastics manufacturers, that is to say we have a number of partnerships whereby we purchase recycled plastics, treat them, create filament from them, package and produce the fila-cycle brand.
We are connected with a number of global recycled plastic specialists that look at existing waste streams of plastic that are currently land filled to help them try and find a market. I cannot say too much about this due to NDA’s with the other businesses.
Also, we have experimented with retail collection. Collecting empty 3d Printed spools, cleaning and respooling them, makes for a great circular economy product. However, this is small scale testing at the moment due to the recycled filament having a niche market.
Additionally we work with Universities that specifically study and work in the Circular Economy, of which plastics plays a vital role. For example, looking at Ocean waste, fishing nets etc etc.
If more people purchased Fila-cycle 100% recycled materials then we could speed all these experiments and services up
But selling recycled plastics can be tough due to the stigma other recycled products have gained, even though the fila-cycle quality is fantastic and award winning
Please drop me an email for more information : scott@fila-cycle.co.uk
Kind regards
Scott
I’ll be sure to do that! Thanks for the introduction, Scott!
It would be so easy if everybody realized that any product they purchase is in essence made from recycled material… It all served a different purpose before…
I would prefer dropping them off at a local business or store and then either having a tag or something so people can recieve their share of filament when they come back.
Thanks for your reply! Would you prefer to have your own old prints back as filament (which means a little wait), or would you take filament that’s already been recycled back with you?
I would prefer getting new filament right away. If you can, bring this filament recycling to the KC metro area, Olathe, Overland Park, Leawood!
Would this be a service where I as a customer would pay you to take my discarded plastic, or one where you would pay me for it? Or would I just donate it to you?
The ideal business model, imo, would be one where you i would give you my discarded plastic in return for credits that could then be used to buy the recycled plastic that you produce. So maybe for every 2 kilos of plastic I turn in, I would get 1 kilo back, or something.
Just curious, what percentage of your “100% recycled filament” is actually recycled?
That is how I did intend to set up the experiment, I made a little trial test to see if people would indeed be willing to receive half of the weight of what they handed in back in recycled filament. Please see this video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=E6abTOPQK28 1
Unfortunately, no one showed up at that time to tell me if they would like that. But I figured that a business can’t run on plastic alone, there needs to be a cash flow. Otherwise we’re going to end up with a giant pile of plastic and no bread on the table. It could run without cash, but if the recycler is going to give you plastic, he will want something else in return, like bread. But it’s cool to hear you thinking along the same lines! Thanks for the input!
Hi Jochem,
Drop me an email to talk more about your idea… scott.Knowles@fila-cycle.com
There may have been no one that turned up, but around the world the video was watched! Well done on the video and experiment. Time to fine tune!
Scott
Hey there,
It’s 100% recycled. not 95 not 99… 100%. We pride ourselves on this and won the best recycled plastic product of the year here in the UK because of it.
100% in our case means 100% !
Please get in touch if this interests… scott.knowles@fila-cycle.com
Scott
Listening to your ideas, and the ideas in this post, we must be very aware that a business model would require cash at some point. I would recommend a discount off your next purchase for sending in your waste plastics.
One of the main issues is separating the plastic types and colours otherwise you run the risk of mixed plastics (which would fail in print) or mixed colours, which often then turn out murky brown or gray etc.
Additionally, if you sent back plastic that had already been recycled once or twice already, then you are effectively sending poor quality plastics back into the loop and expecting better quality plastics out, thus where does the plastic that has been recycled more than once go? and could you tell it apart at the processing end by just eye balling it, of would you need a sophisticated system to be able to chemically test it… it all gets complicated and costly at that stage.
Answers? there really isn’t an easy solution, at least not one that doesn’t involve some cash being put in at some stage.
More thought and discussion and I am sure there can be solutions and business models that work.
I would be willing to work with people and there ideas to see if we could get something operational.
Hi everyone!
I made a quick 10-question survey to ask you, as possible user of this recycling system, for your preferences. If you fill it out, you’ll be directly influencing the direction in which the system is heading! And it’ll only cost you about two minutes All help is welcomed with open arms!
Thanks in advance!
Best regards,
Jochem
I would like to receive prepaid boxes that I can fill up and send to a facility in return for credits to purchase new filament from a web store or participating suppliers.
Alright, thanks for the input! So if I understand correctly, you would prefer to access the service from your home?
Yeah, It seems more cost effective on both ends to ship to one location for recycling instead of installing hundreds of physical drop off bins. You could even team up with Staples and UPS in the US as they both offer 3D printing and shipping inside their stores. You could use them as a location for people without an address to drop off prints and have them shipped in the same prepaid boxes…
