From Waste Stream to 3D Printing: Innovative Approaches to Sustainable Material Development

The rapid increase in global plastic production, from 2 million metric tons in 1950 to 391 million metric tons in 2021, has escalated plastic waste to a critical environmental issue, particularly in our oceans. Annually, 4.8 to 12.7 million metric tons of plastic waste enter the oceans, threatening marine ecosystems. Without urgent intervention, plastic in the oceans could outweigh fish by 2050.

At the Eco-Friendly Center of Circular Advanced Materials & Additive Manufacturing (E-CAM) lab at Ontario Tech University, we are addressing this challenge by converting post-consumer plastic waste into value-added products. Our approach involves reprocessing and enhancing waste plastics with proprietary low-carbon and carbon-negative additives and fillers, including agricultural waste, biomass, and recycled industrial by-products such as glass fibers. This innovation transforms heterogeneous plastic waste streams—like PET, HDPE, LDPE, and PP—into 3D printable materials with enhanced properties, eliminating the need for costly sorting and enabling the recycling of incompatible plastics.

Our research focuses on improving the mechanical, rheological, and thermal properties of recycled plastics, making them suitable for applications in packaging, construction, and automotive industries. By using high-shear melt extrusion and proprietary polymeric additives, we overcome challenges like polymer degradation and incompatibility between different plastic types.

This presentation will showcase our sustainable, circular approach to transforming plastic waste into high-value, 3D printable feedstocks, offering a solution to the global plastic waste crisis while reducing reliance on raw materials and production costs.