During the Summer of 2020, the Precious Plastic Herzeele Team worked with Ateliers de Tito to build the first of the two Precious Plastic Machines they would build as part of this project.
The machines were built from scratch, giving the team a unique opportunity to learn about the building process, techniques and the different components.
The Shredder.
The first machine to be built was the Precious Plastic Shredder.
The aim was for the machine to use recycled components, therefore we took several trips to local dumps to find discarded pieces of the metal, wires or components that we could reuse.
The Shredder allows the team to shred up plastic that will be collected from our waste collection efforts. By shredding the plastic, it can be more easily recycled and a larger quantity can be stored in the community workshop space. The shredder has 3 main components.
The motor
This turns the shredder box teeth so that the plastic waste can be shredded. It was essential that the motor had enough torque to be able to shred through tough plastic without getting stuck.
For our shredder we used an old motor from a wench which we bought second hand.
The shredder box
The shredder box is where the hard work is completed! It uses a series of laser cut teeth, in staggered positions, to dig into the plastic and shred it up! The laser cut teeth are then positioned on a hexagon bar which allows them to turn without slipping.
To create the components within the shredder box, we used a local Makerspace where we could use a lathe, and Ateliers de Tito helped us to put it all together!
The funnel
The funnel is the final part of the shredder. This is where the plastic is loaded in. We also made some plungers out of wood, using the open workshop at Compagnon Batisseur in Dunkirk, which provides a safe way to push down the plastic if it gets stuck.
The shredder was built following the blue prints that were providing by Precious Plastic V3. These can be found online at preciousplastic.com.
The shredder will be used in the community Plastic Recycling space that the team hopes to develop as part of the Precious Plastic Herzeele for the Community project.
To share what we learnt through the process of building the shredder, we shared several posts on social media giving a detailed breakdown of the machine.
