Precious Plastic USA

Hi, I just joined Discord and PP. Not sure how this will work. If anyone is in the Denver area and wants to work together, look me up.

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hi and thank you!! feel free to share this channel using this link https://discord.gg/D7WRzzD with other like minded precious plastic enthusiasts in your area! also check out this link https://community.preciousplastic.com/map/ for an insight on the people in your area who have added them selves to the "map"

Invite to join a server

Precious Plastic USA

colorado

Precious Plastic Community Platform

A series of tools for the Precious Plastic community to collaborate around the world. Connect, share and meet each other to tackle plastic waste.

Rico pinned a message to this channel. 1/12/2020 12:20 PM

Hi! I'm a V4 team member moving to the Denver area this month. Please reach out if you're in the area and want to meet!

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HI V4 team member. My name is ismael & i am looking to host both entrepreneurs & engineers in order to get a precious plastic liason going. I will be meeing with tom this week-- hoping I can put together a ride share to see you as well. he in in bend OR

See what you can do to start helping in your state today! Please feel free to contact me with any questions :) https://preciousplastic.com/starterkits/overview.html

Precious Plastic Starterktis

Starterkits are packages of information with everything you need to know to set up Precious Plastic recycling spaces and start tackling the plastic waste problem.

Hi

Hi. I'm back after a busy semester at school. What's happening in Denver @Rico and @hbirdj ?

i changed my handle from @Lydia_in_Colorado to @LydiaLsdia

I'm moving to Colorado soon

Hi Hi! Soon to be Denver transplant here. I'd love to connect with anyone in the area and see what's cooking in PP world over there!

Hey hey, after a transition period, I'm getting pretty settled in the Louisville area and am thinking about how to contribute to the Colorado PP community. Anyone working on machines at the moment?

thats awesome! No machines for me at the moment but the goal is to set up a mixed workspace, so i'm also in need of machinery

I live in southern Colorado now (edited)

Hallo everybody! Surprisingly I was invited to America, but I live in Austria - how can I find an european server please?

Hey everyone! I'm based in Lyons but am all over the front range. Is anyone working on any cool projects right now? I've been researching plastic-to-diesel

I'm in Colorado, haven't worked on any projects but I would like to get started!

@Alanson (CO) Hey! I made a google doc for us to brainstorm project ideas on. BTW, anyone else can also edit the doc with this link https://docs.google.com/document/d/1KhLsr2ivaPWfsykxRAIJABxMnW0Otn57usGrtbjcDvc/edit?usp=sharing (edited)

PP Colorado Brainstorming Doc

Precious Plastic Colorado Brainstorming This sheet is for discussing project ideas and aggregating links to helpful resources. Feel free to edit and add your own ideas, but try not to make changes to things other folks have written. Use the comment feature to add notes regarding things other peo...

Alright sounds good.

I added my info to the doc.

sweeet - sorry if this moves slow btw, my work has been pretty busy recently. If you don't mind, where are you based? I saw "southern colorado" @Alanson (CO)

I'll DM you

Hi, been following PP for a year now, and finally have access to some space for an injection machine in the Englewood area for low volume products. Planning on also getting a shredder in late summer unless another source opens up locally.

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Thanks for letting us know!

RecycleMission

Hi, been following PP for a year now, and finally have access to some space for an injection machine in the Englewood area for low volume products. Planning on also getting a shredder in late summer unless another source opens up locally.

Nice! I'd love to come check out your space once you've got it up and running

eric_OZ

Nice! I'd love to come check out your space once you've got it up and running

Ha, right now it's a storage bus...working on cleaning until I figure out where I can get some equipment. On that note, does anyone have connections with a local CNC shop that could help with custom aluminum moulds? I'm afraid going to a typical industrial services shop will be $$$.

My dad is a CNC machinist, I'll ask him. (edited)

3:29 AM

You're talking about an aluminum mold to shape plastic into a custom shape? (edited)

Yes, could be used for injection moulding, so basically an aluminum mould with a 1/2" pipe fitting on it to fill with injected plastic.

Ah ok

3:34 AM

Although idk if my dad knows anything about local CNC shops since he works for the big corporations.

3:34 AM

@guru Did you say something?

Anything might be helpful; my current thought is to just start asking some of the PP machine shops around the country, but I know the PP-USA shop I contacted in Oregon has to contract the work out.

Oh ok

3:40 AM

I'll let you know what my dad says

RecycleMission

Ha, right now it's a storage bus...working on cleaning until I figure out where I can get some equipment. On that note, does anyone have connections with a local CNC shop that could help with custom aluminum moulds? I'm afraid going to a typical industrial services shop will be $$$.

I'm involved with a hackerspace in boulder that's got some metalworking tools, I asked in the slack channel if anyone might be able to help with your mould-making needs

My dad doesn't know any local CNC machinist shops sorry.

9:29 PM

We just moved here

9:33 PM

https://www.cnccorp.net/history/

cnccorpn

History | CNC Corp Manufacturing molds, Forge Tooling, Forging Dies...

CNC Machining history of our company.

9:34 PM

Maybe this place will help with those molds.

Forget your daddies for a moment

Please consider <3" doable at any nearby hobbyist CNC. EDM is rather needed at micron levels, for things a standard CNC can't do .... (there is plenty of it though) cnccorp.net looks like another bold & fat name - I won't be surprised about charging you 3 times any PP'er would/could do near free at this levels. I actually expected that any CNC enthusiast in the US spinned already up some epoxy/granite beast to keep this story going,

(edited)

speaking of EDM, i found this neat (mostly) open source project for that recently: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCy4kgsAYxcraee8w5SfqXPA/videos

BAXEDM

This channel features a tutorial series with all information you need to know in order to build your own custom wire EDM machine.

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5:18 AM

the arc generator is still closed source, but they sell them i guess

5:19 AM

10 micron precision i think, so not 100% the same as industry i guess

nice catch - just checked baxedm.com - a pity - there seems to be only the CAD and BOM OpenSource. Firmware is all binary.

definetly makes me sad, i hope we can pressure them long term to fully open source everything

Yeah, I think lots of people rather don't because things are not in a good shape. There is a big difference between OpenSourced and OpenSource whereby the latter involves up-to 10x more time. Here in the PreciousPlastic world, I have seen and collected hundreds of projects - ending up in thousand of files but honestly, this can be all redone. I started some CAD & OS policy/best-practice guide but I guess it would scare off folks though

Hi there, This is my first time posting, so please excuse me if I’m in the wrong place. My apologies in advance. I’d like to build an injection molder from the precious plastic plans. Where do I find the link for the recommended pid controller, heater bands, etc? Thank you for your time.

Hey guys! I am in Denver and would like to start building some of these machines.

Hi guys!

Assembling shredder in Denver area. twitter.com/DenverPrecious

@Eric Lotze Hi Eric, A book, The EDM How To Book by Ben Fleming has power supplies in it. This is a ram instead of wire. Sensing etc. is very similar. I should have a book on wire feed machine but could not find it now. Check with yourold timebookstore.com. They have some of the books that another technical publisher printed. They may have the one on wire. Also look up Home Shop Machinist Magazine their archives has plans if I remember.

Sorry i took forever to respond to this, that sounds really neat! Books are a huge gap in knowledge i have dived into / can grab with a search engine easily, so thanks for that, i'll look into it !

@Eric Lotze

#5710 no problem on slow response this is my learning about chats. Good luck finding things. I may have the magazines here not sure it has been years ago.

Hello! I would love to be involved - I live in Thornton, CO. I am an artist. I have been following Precious Plastic since the beginning. I want to make stuff out of plastic and/or recycle it and sell the products... I really like the bricks.

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@Joanna Whitney if you need any help with the bricks, let me know :)

thanks! I really hope there are some folks from Colorado - the Denver Metro Area (edited)

Hello!

4:43 AM

I am in the Denver area and just wanted to say hi

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If you are in the Denver area, please start saving your 4 and 6 pack can carriers like the ones seen in this Twitter post...

4:32 PM

twitter.com/DenverPrecious/status/1393997169904918530

@Plasteeq which one are you on the precious plastic map? (edited)

10:26 PM

Thinking of going to school in CSU would be cool to be close to a workspace

Not on the map yet and don't have a workspace. Starting small and scaling slow. Perhaps someday.

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To-go coffee lids are probably next so if anybody wants to start a collection, I will likely take them.

What’s the uses?

No current plan beyond shredding and storing but certainly lots of ideas which could be implemented down the line. While the aluminum can holder will likely require little to no washing prior to shred, the coffee lids will need some wash, yet the contamination is somewhat predictable and will be a good starting point to study plastic washing.

From Alabama. Manager of a cafe

8:19 PM

Eventually I’ll be gm and actually enforce the proper recycling, so that I can collect and recycle the plastics.

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8:20 PM

Given that the lids are likely the same material across the country, if you have solutions for cleaning and upcycling. Send them my way

a superhero like Batman but Plastic man and dresses up like a plastic bottle?

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Is anyone in CO actually making this work? Utah is pretty much dead

It’s gotta be centralized by willing people and funded as a mass effort for any of this to work. Got tons of ideas but no cash to incentivize anything.

8:24 PM

So I own a mattress recycle company and we are getting a lot of #2 plastic

8:24 PM

I’d like to get something going. Even if I need to work with you Colorado guys

Alabama here. Just throwing my hat in where I can

Scranton, Pennsylvania

Suggestion. Grind, dry, and turn into filament for printers.

8:25 PM

The process to set up is around 1500

I’ve just been working with plastic number two

This was a thought I had, but would it be possible to get small tax breaks for those willing to organize and sort their recycling from local and municipal government?

Technically^yes

Right now my city is paying the recycling center to take plastic off of its hands

This is the problem^

8:26 PM

If there’s one in the area. Good luck

Solus

This is the problem^

Enlighten me senpai

Generally these things are treated like bidding contracts rather than grants. You have to be approved and the better operating one or pre existing one is hard to compete with

I will also accept paper, foam, and plastic egg cartons. Did I mention I am developing a rewards system?

It would be easier to just get the people to give you plastic rather than put it in the recycling bin for the city

I have a idea for collection and pre sorting

8:28 PM

Compilation of knowledge into a guide they pay a small amount for to be able to recycle for rewards.

8:29 PM

Predetermined pickup locations. Most of it will be sorted already with people who understand what plastic is what

Simple website with data is in the works.

I was just thinking yesterday to get supermarkets involved in so this way everybody who goes to the supermarket and buy some thing made of plastic will bring that item back to the supermarket when they’re done with it and there will be a collection bin there

A simple test to weed out the people who might make the system harder.

8:30 PM

Yep. I was thinking if I got the box built I could try and talk to a Walmart or something

8:30 PM

The box(the guide, test, and sorting)

Is anyone able to put this entire business in a food truck

You could put it in an 18 wheeler

I was thinking something similar Solus, except making a 1-time, hour long mandatory class on proper recycling.

8:31 PM

Either online or in person.

That’s part of the test

I was also thinking off the lines of build a Bear workshop people would bring their plastic to a place and have it turned into what they wanted it to be turned into

They have to pass a test and if they fail they have to pay for the class.

Those who aren't serious probably wouldn't show up anyway.

Weeds out the weak and funds more

I'm not sure a sudden influx of plastics can be utilized unless the Precious Plastics branch is properly scaled and that takes time.

Definitely not. It would have to be centralized and industrialized.

8:35 PM

There’s plenty of things that can be made however, like bicycles. Car parts, etc.

Just wanted to pop on to the Colorado Channel and say hi! My name is Nicole and I am currently running the precious plastics program in Breckenridge with Breck Create.

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Hi @skibum_98 this is amazing! do you have a website insta or anything? I'm in denver but im dying to start working with all of this here in denver or colorado period. I'm currently only working with paper, textiles and some plastic, mainly just plastic bags.

11:13 PM

i'd love to connect!

Carla.G

Hi @skibum_98 this is amazing! do you have a website insta or anything? I'm in denver but im dying to start working with all of this here in denver or colorado period. I'm currently only working with paper, textiles and some plastic, mainly just plastic bags.

You can find us here at https://breckcreate.org/ and feel free to reach out my email is preciousplastics@breckcreate.org

Breck Create • Breckenridge, Colorado

Breck Create offers inspiring creative experiences to Breckenridge residents and visitors worldwide.

Hello @skibum_98 and @Carla.G I am a student at CSU in Fort Collins and I am in our Zero Waste Team/club and we do a lot of sustainability stuff on campus namely sorting trash at the sports games making sure as much compost as possible gets to our facility without contamination and the same with recycling. we also have done waste audits on campus to show how much waste is put in the wrong bin etc. I've been aware of Precious Plastic for a few years now and I presented to the team on the topic and I'm hoping we can write a grant to get money for machines and a space on canpus where we can recycle plastic on campus and hopefully start projects with other businesses in town

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5:47 AM

I don't know if there's any way you could help us but I'd love to connect with you! and anyone else in Colorado specifically fort collins!

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