The British manufacturer of 3D printing filaments Filamentive has launched a new service for the free return and recycling of PLA waste from 3D printing. The aim of the initiative is to reduce plastic waste in the FDM printing process.
The company estimates that around 400,000 kilograms, or a third of all 3D printed parts, end up as waste in the UK every year. “Most 3D printing waste is not recycled, so we need to do something about that,” explained Filamentive Managing Director Revi Toor.
The new service is intended to create an easy way for customers to properly dispose of residual material and misprints made from PLA and return them to the material cycle. Existing Filamentive customers will receive a 45 liter waste collection box for every 500 pounds of sales.
Once the box is full, it is collected by Filamentive’s recycling partner 3DPW and the contents are processed into new products for 3D printing and injection molding. “We see the cost of this as an investment in sustainable additive manufacturing, not as an expense,” says Toor.
The free recycling service is currently limited to the material PLA, but other plastics are to follow in the future. Filamentive is aiming to recycle at least one tonne of 3D printing waste within a year.
At the same time, the manufacturer has also been offering an economy PLA made from 99.99% recycled industrial waste since 2022. With such initiatives, the British company is pursuing the goal of increasing the recyclability of FDM/FFF production.
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