From Sea to Sea Project - Distributed Design Platform

Useful information

Team members: Atte Linna Ville Ojala Pietari Noutere Ron Repo Elvis Muhonen
Country: Finland
Keywords: Additive manufacturing 3D-printing waste ocean plastic

Short Description

The project aims to validate the concept of distributed recycling by additive manufacturing.

Detailed Description

We started in 2018 with the development of a large-scale 3D-printer. Back then we used regular FDM-filament which wasn't really sustainable. For the current iteration we wanted to be able to print with shredded plastic flakes.

The idea evolved as we discussed possible application fields for the tech. We identified surfboards and paddleboards being made in an unsustainable way by combining thermoplastics with laminated glassfiber. Because of this bond are recyclable only with a considerable amount of resources. That's why we came up with the plan of 3D-printing a whole paddleboard with a single material which would be 100% recyclable at the end of its lifecycle.

We took the circular economy principle from cradle to cradle as the reference for our project and went for the ultimate task of 3D-printing with ocean plastic. Our plan is to take plastic trash from the ocean and bring it back in a new functional form.

We are lookinh into open sourcing the tech after the initial development.

Project Details

Does your design take social and cultural challenges and human wellbeing into consideration?: With this project we want to pilot a new grassroot plastic recycling system which we hope will enable new business opportunities for local SME, communities and individuals.

Does your design support sustainable production, embodying circular or regenerative design practices?: The project offers a perspective on how new products can be made from waste plastic.

Does your design use principles of distribution and open source?: Our 3D-printer and the accompanying technology will be open sourced once the initial development stage reaches maturity.

Does your design promote awareness of responsible design and consumption?: By showing the new aesthetics of 3D-prints made of recycled plastic we can raise awereness of an viable alternative and prove that waste plastic is anything but waste.