Based on Melbourne data, selected plastic as a waste product to repurpose (85% of plastics are sent to Melbourne's landfill).
Three major plastic types
HDPE - High Density Polyethylene
- Examples: shampoo bottles, milk jugs
LDPE - Low Density Polyethylene
- Examples: zip lock bags, Saran Wrap, plastic grocery bags, any stretchy plastic material
PET - Polyethylene Terephthalate
- Examples: plastic soda bottles, clothing fibers (polyester)
Day 1 | Wednesday:
- Collect plastics!
- Collect 3 different HDPE items
- Collect 3 different LDPE items
- Collect 3 different PET items
- Post photos of these items on the platform
- Watch "The Story of Plastic" (1.5 hours, purchase for $3 on Amazon Prime)
Day 2 | Thursday: Create a process to beginning to test
- Clean all plastic items (9 total)
- Design tool to process plastic
- "Processing" the plastics
- For each of the major plastic types, choose 1 item to:
- Shred
- Turn it into strips
- Heat to form new shape (use hair dryer, do this test outside, and be careful!)
- Compression (use books or heavy material)
Day 3 | Friday:
Research how these plastics repurposed for the following:
- Fabric
- Brick / block
- Net or basket
- Flatware
Once you've completed your research, begin experimenting to create:
- Fabric
- Brick / block
- Net or basket
- Flatware
You can use the techniques you learned the day prior (shredding, stripping, heat and compression). Document your creations!
Check out what this guy created.
Day 4 | Monday:
Day 5 | Tuesday: