Introduction

Hello!
This document is to give you guys an overview of what we will be working on in our new version. We
invite you to help us out on next.preciousplastic.com. But before we go into the new version, here is a
little recap on where we are currently at.

Current Version
Precious Plastic started 5 years ago and has grown into a big community of enthusiastic people around
the world recycling plastic. Over 200 plastic recycling workspaces have already been set up and a
new one is opening up somewhere around the world every week. This is great and keeps expanding.
However, the plastic problem is still way, way bigger than us- most of the plastic is still laying around
as waste. We can do more. Specially looking out our map with +6000 people from around the world
wanting to get started. Until now Precious Plastic is hacked together with minimal resources thanks to
the help of people around the world. It is now time to step up our game and get more professional (at
least a bit :). We have been gathering feedback and shaping a plan for a new version. Precious Plastic
Version 4.

Next. Version 4.
We set up a big (online) infrastructure in the previous years. Bazar, map, community, product exam-
ples, documentation etc. It all works but could be way better. Our goal is to completely rebuild and de-
velop one strong platform. A massive digital operation but crucial for the future of our online commu-
nity. Besides our online world we want to increase recycling rates and make it easier to recycle plastic
in large amounts, bulk. We learned it’s powerfull to focus on one technique and fully master this. This
means developing a more industrial version of machines, more expensive but also more robust and
more efficient. And finally we want to research and explore the future of plastic recycling, embrace
new technologies and methods. Using lasers to scan different types and robotics to sort plastic. But
also get beyond recycling and dive into alternatives materials.

These are our key points to work on for this version. However we also have a huge list of small im-
provements. In this plan we’ve written them all out.
Re-invent online community platform
Explore the future of plastic
Increase our recycling rates
1 - Online Platform
1.1 - Completely rebuild our existing community platform (crucial)
Our current online community website, where the Precious Plastic forums are located needs a big
update.. Many features are lacking and could be improved. It is also confusing for users to understand
the difference between davehakkens.nl & Preciousplastic.com. We are going to create one solid com-
munity platform for all our project, one army. On top of this, all code will be shared open-source online
so it can be used by any other project our there to set-up their own online community. Below a few key
elements we want to improve/include in this platform.

1.2 - Online documentation tool for the community (crucial)

One of they key assets of Precious Plastic is our community and the shared knowledge we own togeth-
er. Currently this is gathered in the forums. However everyone has a different way/layout of sharing
this. We want to standardise this experience, making it easier to share and more clear to browse/read.
iFixit is a good example of how they create this for their community. We need to make sure all the
gained knowledge is properly stored and displayed to make sure it does not get lost.

1.3 - Events
Many Precious Plastic events, meetups, workshops are hosted around the world, hard to keep track
and notice when they happen. But also hard to mobilize people. We will integrate an events area to our
website and map to show upcoming events and how to participate.

1.4 - Power up our map

We have gotten great responses for our online map, it’s been a powerful tool to connect people around
the world that want to get started. Local connections are key for Precious Plastic. We want to continue
the path and include other categories like collection points, shops, etc.

1.5 - Restructure forums & add user-groups

Forums are the main way to interact for our members. However, it can be messy to find the right
content. Proper categories, sorting tools and powerful search functions are lacking. Besides this, one
single central forum is overwhelming with many users and topics. We want to create smaller and more
specific subgroups (like Shredder hacks, translations, PP Tokyo etc) to bring more focused groups to-
gether and give them a place to interact on more relevant topics. We need to restructure our forums
from the ground up.
1.6 - Bazar
Our bazar, online for less than a year now, has proven itself to be very useful for the community. On
one hand it helps to generate income for people selling recycled products and machine builders sell-
ing parts. But also to make it easier for people to get started since they have the ability to buy parts,
locally. And finally it also help external people to support the project (and recycling) with their wallets.
The Bazar is currently running beta on a third party software. Which means users need to create a
new account (next to our own community, not idea) and it makes customisation nearly impossible. We
want to be independent, have one user login and add modifications like better shipping options and
allow multiple currencies.
2 - Products
2.1 - Design new line of example products
Expand the library of product examples (+15) for the community to re-produce. Design/prototype/
document. In version 3 we’ve also added the feature for community members to share their own
product design and documentation in instruction videos. A powerful approach for the community to
feed itself with new knowledge but hardly used. We will streamline the process and add support/tools
to make it easier.

2.2 Explore plastic replacements

Our main focus is plastic recycling, however, to prevent the plastic problem we also need to come up
with alternatives and in the future we are going to rely on natural manufactured Bio Plastics as well.
Most likely we can adapt our machines and make them ready for this process. We want to research the
topic and prepare our community.

2.3 - Educate designers how to design for recycling

A big flaw within plastic recycling lies in the original design process itself. Small design decisions that
make it extremely difficult to further use materials preventing them from entering the recycling sys-
tems. Mixing different plastics, not including plastic type icons or using particular glues are just some
examples of how the problem could be solved at source. At Precious Plastic we are at the end of the
chain and know very well how a small design decision can have a big impact in the recycling process.
We want to educate our community and other product designers to make plastic items easier to re-
cycle.

2.4 - Business plan

It’s always been a struggle for us to provide concrete output numbers and metrics for the current
machines. Mainly because everyone build their machines differently depending on where they. With
our new semi-industrial version we will provide better metrics, numbers, and calculations to shape a
business plan that can be adopted globally. We will also provide templates for this that make it easier
to get started selling products.

2.5 - Increase product sales on the Bazar.

The Bazar is a powerful growing tool for Precious Plastic, it creates an economy around local plastic
recycling. Besides this, it also makes it easier for people to start since they can buy machines or parts.
The amount of purchases is growing and Precious Plastic takes 5% on each transaction. User feed-
back shows buyers and sellers actually like this because they support the movement. Currently most
purchases are machine based. We want to increase sales on plastic objects as this will make it easier
for workspaces to sustain itself in the long run. This requires a cleaner content in the bazar to display
products nicely and increase a consumer demand. We will achieve this by promotional videos/images
and tailored support to our most active members.
3 - Machines & Tools
3.1 - Sheetpress (crucial)
Most requested machine from our community, a press to create sheets from recycled plastic. Sheets
can be used as intermediate goods which opens up a whole new world of possibilities because they
can be used in other sectors like lasering, cnc milling, or construction. This machines also makes it
easier to process plastic in bulk amounts. Resulting in greater impact.

3.2 - Develop semi industrial machines (crucial)

Currently Precious Plastic machines are great to create awareness, educate people or to start a small
business. We like to expand our inventory of machinery by adding a semi-industrial collection. Starting
with a shredder and an extruder. These machines will be more reliable, efficient, CE certificate, with
higher output and manufactured by verified machine builders according to our drawings. This makes
it possible for us to provide clear metrics on production speed and output. Specifically targeted at en-
trepreneurs or municipalities that want to recycle plastic in larger quantities.

3.3 - Increase safety (crucial)

So far most machine development has been on getting the job done. Fortunately so far no one chopped
off their fingers. We want to make sure we’re ahead of this and implement better safety options for
each machine. For instance, add an upgrade to the machines to easily connect them to a ventilation
system so it takes care of the fumes.

3.4 - Washing system (crucial)

Create a washing system for small and large scale operations that is flexible to adapt for various lo-
cations. With water/sun scarcity or abundance in mind. Big difference in workflows but we want to
provide this for all scenarios.

3.5 - Develop a tool for PET

One of the most common plastic around the world is PET. Our machines can work with PET but the
learning curve is pretty steep as the material has a very precise melting temperature that needs to
be super accurate. Community feedback shows this is challenging. We want to develop a small tool/
machine specially for recycling PET.

3.6 - Laser to scan different types of plastic

Types of plastic are difficult to differentiate from each other. They can look and feel the same but their
physical properties can be different. Scanning devices exist but are not very accessible (+€25k). Using
infrared rays we can create a low cost device to scan different types of plastic. Crucial for the future of
plastic recycling in the developed and developing world.
3.7 - Robotics for sorting plastic
In-depth plastic sorting is currently done manually, its inaccurate and labour intensive. In order to
make recycling economically more interesting for the developed world automation is key. We want to
combine and reprogram softwares for welding robots with laser scanning devices to process unsorted
waste.

3.8 - Develop a tool for Styrofoam

Another widely spread plastic that is currently not recycled is styrofoam, it works slightly different with
our processes as it contains little gas bubbles. With some research and prototyping we can streamline
the process and integrate it with our machines.

3.9 - Develop a tool for Plastic foils

Plastic foils are often a mix of layers of different types of plastic fused together. Occasionally it even
includes aluminium (chips bag). Although this means they are nearly impossible to recycle we are con-
fident we can find a way combining them with our injection process.

3.10 - Arduino/raspberry controllers (optional)

The main electronics needed for the Precious Plastic machines are temperature and speed controllers.
We like to offer a DIY alternative using arduino or RaspberryPI. This also allows more flexibility to load
programs and include software updates.

3.11 - Alternative energy (optional)

Using wind and solar energy to power up workspaces has been on our list for a long time. Unfortunate-
ly it’s not as simple as just putting a solar panel on the roof. That said, we would like to dive into this
topic, do the math, optimize machines and add alternative energy as a machine hack.

3.12 - 3D printer Filament (optional)

This is by far one of the most asked feature. We worked in this area a bit with our filament maker. How-
ever, this world is rapidly evolving and on a global scale still very much a niche market for advanced
maker spaces. That’s why our focus has been on more basic and robust tools. That said, we are still
very interested in this and looking forward to see some passionate people working on this.
(45) People needed
People (and peanutbutter) are the most crucial parts of Precious Plastic. We have a big space and
budget to execute this new version. But without dedicated people nothing will happen. It’s people’s
passion that fuel the project forward. We want to establish a team of people working with full focus on
these topics while making sure everyone is having a great time. Inviting Vegan chefs to prodive nice or-
ganic food everyday and doing regular evening events where we can chat, watch movies and hangout
with a beer. This is roughly what the team will look like.

MACHINES & TOOLS (23) PRODUCT DESIGN (6)

2 Safety (1 researcher, 1 engineer – 3 months)
2 Extrusion (2 product designers – 3 month
2 Sheet press (1 engineer, 1 industrial2designer – 6 months)
Sheet press (2 product designers – 3 month
2 Shredder (1 engineer, 1 industrial2designer – 6 months)
Plastic alternatives (2 product designers – 3 month
2 Extruder (1 engineer, 1 industrial designer – 6 months)
2 PET (1 engineer, 1 industrial designer – 3 months)
2 Styrofoam (1 engineer, 1 industrial designer – 3 months)
2 Foils (1 engineer, 1 industrial designer – 3 months)
2 Dirty plastic
WEB (7)
(1 engineer, 1 industrial designer – 3 months)
1 UX Designer (1 UX designers – 3 months)
2 Cleaning (1 engineer, 1 industrial designer – 3 months)
1 UI Designer (1 UI designers – 6 months)
2 Sorting (1 engineer, 1 industrial designer – 3 months)
2 Frontend Developer (2 frontend developers – 6 mo
1 Arduino (1 nerd – 3 months)
2 Backend Developer (2 backend developers – 6 mon
2 Robotics (2 nerds – 3 months)
1 Fullstack Developer (1 fullstack developer – 6 mont

Cherries (9)
1 Business plan (1 business person - 6 months)
1 Store (1 person - 6 months)
3 (Vegan) Chefs (3 chefs - 6 months)
1 Events / Activities (1 person - 6 months)
1 Photographer (1 photographer - 6 months)
1 Coordinator/finances (1 person - 6 months)
1 Branding/graphics (1 person - 6 months)
 Budget
Since the beginning Precious Plastic is funded by donations from the crowd and occasionally an award
here and there. Budgets for development have never been high. For this version we won a €300.000
award, this is a huge boost for the project. Although this a lot of money its easily finished if you hire
a few experts. So we are going to spend it the Precious Plastic way. Fully use it to facilitate passionate
people. It allows us to empower many more people (+40) that are passionate about plastic recycling
to collaborate in development. Work together and execute this plan to bring an opensource solution
for Plastic waste. . We will continue until the problem is solved or we run out of budget. Probably the
latter :)

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Get rich, from the inside.

We have €300.000 to spend on finding solid solutions to tackle the plastic problem. We could employ
6 people full time paying normal salaries for a few months. Or we could invite 40+ dedicated people
from around the world and cover all the basic expenses to live in The Netherlands. We like to think the
onths) second option is the most efficient and beneficial for the project. We will cover food and accommoda-
nths)
ths) tion to everyone and have another bit of budget set aside for people that needs it most and come from
the furthest. Budget seems a lot but you can imagine how numbers quickly add up, specially when
working with 40+ people, plus machines and tools. Basically, join our army if you want to help solve
this global problem or join a normal company if you want to get rich :)
Location
We’ve got a big new space in the middle of the center of Eindhoven for 1 year, a gift from the munici-
pality. Perfect for us to bring in a whole bunch of people from around the world. But also the interact
more with people living in the city since it’s so easy to reach. For instance starting a plastic collection
point. And just because we can we are going to build a little pop-up shop showcasing community made
products so people can visit, buy, support. And during the Dutch Design week in October we will be
open for for the public, so make sure to drop by and have a chat :)
Join us :)