A Precious Idea

It’s a precious thing to read about a bit of youthful ingenuity and determination. We recently had the pleasure of learning about Dave Hakksan’s Precious Plastic project – an idea that helped him graduate and spread the word about our individual role in recycling plastic.

Autor*in Jo Wilkinson, 10.30.13

It’s a precious thing to read about a bit of youthful ingenuity and determination. We recently had the pleasure of learning about Dave Hakksan’s Precious Plastic project – an idea that helped him graduate and spread the word about our individual role in recycling plastic.

Plastic is often demonised in eco-friendly circles and it’s not hard to figure out why. Of all the plastic we use in the world – and we use a lot – some countries recycle less than 10 percent of it.  Not only that, but some recycling plants have even made a stand against accepting certain types of plastic in their facility. This is alarming behaviour when you consider one recycled plastic bottle can save enough energy to power a 60-watt light bulb for three hours.

The price and complexity of machines designed to recycle plastic is a huge problem, and one of the central reasons why Dave considered it a good focus for his studies.

The idea behind the Precious Plastic project is to make recycling and upcycling plastic a possibility for everyone – even in their own home. He developed a series of machines that individuals can build and use to refashion their own plastic goods. To highlight its ease of use Dave posted a video of the machine on YouTube and quickly found scores of fans around the world supporting him on the project.

The Precious Plastic project is still in its design phase but the goal towards locally recycled plastic is still very much in full swing. Initiatives like this are sorely needed in the plastics sector and it’s promising to see eco-friendly initiatives like this come from Generation Y.

To find out more about Dave Hakksan’s project visit his website: www.preciousplastic.com

Author: Jo Wilkinson / RESET editorial

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