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How is a research project in The Netherlands using a 3-D printer to repurpose plastic waste?

Answer: By making 3-D printed public benches out of Amsterdam’s plastic waste.

The New Raw, a research and design studio in Rotterdam in the Netherlands, has found an innovative new use for Amsterdam's plastic waste. It’s a public bench that is 3-D printed out of pellets and flakes from municipal waste and ground-up products.

Currently the research project, Print Your City!, has only one prototype called the XXX bench, which weighs 110 pounds and seats two to four people. According to The New Raw, it’s a rocking bench that requires users to “find equilibrium together, or use their energy to rock each other” in order to get it to move. Research suggests that the amount of plastic waste produced within the capital city would be enough to produce two XXX benches annually.

Going forward, The New Raw hopes to expand the scope of this project and produce other public use items such as recycling bins with recycled plastics.

Kate is a senior copy editor in Northern California. She holds a bachelor's degree in English with a minor in professional writing from the University of California, Davis.