I have to ask, is putting more plastic in the ocean a good idea? I don't think it can degrade completely without causing new problems in the process. PLA may not harm organisms but it's still becoming microplastic that may end up in the food chain, or am i getting something wrong here?
'dis dutchman already started: www.theoceancleanup.com/ You could channel the costs that fishing all the plastics out and seperating it produces and shift it to the conscious consumer and make Eco+ Filament, a win-win. i too see enormous potential for recycled filaments. There are already some pretty cool ones including some color, wich is neato! And only imagine what is going to come in the future, i wouldnt've gotten into this hobby in the first place had i not found out that PLA as the most-used 3dp-material was plant-based. No need to dig up any more fossils
Hi Buzz, I had the same concern when we were coming up with this project. I researched the specific polymer used in this PLA filament, and there was not much to be found about the rate of breakdown in a marine environment. For now, there are 60 some corals on the reef in Fiji. They were deployed in February and will be removed in September to see if there has been any damage, signs of degradation, etc. The hope is though that the corals could become incorporated into the natural reef (i.e. become colonized by coral or calcifying algae, which I have already seen happen) before breakdown occurs. The September trip to Fiji should help us figure out if that would be a possibility
Thanks for the direct reply, Emily, every effort to preserve and relieve wildlife is of course greatly appreciated. I just wanted to voice my concern. To be fair I didn't think about slower degradation after colonization (they might even solidify or merge 'permanently'). Very interested in the results. Any way to get more details like how they are tied to the ocean floor for example?
Sure! I used a reef-safe cement to attach the base of each coral to a cinder block. Then used fishing line to tie each coral down for extra hold. If you'd like, I can email you some photos of the corals on the reef
That is so cool! Proactively thoughtful at that. Emily rocks! You might even say, Emily's coral-like rocks! Haha cool shirt too Mara! Ok, I'm off to the exclamation mark store to reup on supplies.
I thought I read that PLA is very biodegradable in saltwater? I'm in the reefing hobby and have been reading about 3d printing parts to use in the hobby and PLA was said to be a terrible material to use as it would degrade in under 6 months?
I have to ask, is putting more plastic in the ocean a good idea? I don't think it can degrade completely without causing new problems in the process. PLA may not harm organisms but it's still becoming microplastic that may end up in the food chain, or am i getting something wrong here?
I agree with this. Maybe we could make a floating platform that harvested water bottles and then 3d printed them into artificial reefs!
'dis dutchman already started: www.theoceancleanup.com/
You could channel the costs that fishing all the plastics out and seperating it produces and shift it to the conscious consumer and make Eco+ Filament, a win-win.
i too see enormous potential for recycled filaments. There are already some pretty cool ones including some color, wich is neato! And only imagine what is going to come in the future, i wouldnt've gotten into this hobby in the first place had i not found out that PLA as the most-used 3dp-material was plant-based. No need to dig up any more fossils
Hi Buzz, I had the same concern when we were coming up with this project. I researched the specific polymer used in this PLA filament, and there was not much to be found about the rate of breakdown in a marine environment. For now, there are 60 some corals on the reef in Fiji. They were deployed in February and will be removed in September to see if there has been any damage, signs of degradation, etc. The hope is though that the corals could become incorporated into the natural reef (i.e. become colonized by coral or calcifying algae, which I have already seen happen) before breakdown occurs. The September trip to Fiji should help us figure out if that would be a possibility
Thanks for the direct reply, Emily, every effort to preserve and relieve wildlife is of course greatly appreciated. I just wanted to voice my concern. To be fair I didn't think about slower degradation after colonization (they might even solidify or merge 'permanently').
Very interested in the results. Any way to get more details like how they are tied to the ocean floor for example?
Sure! I used a reef-safe cement to attach the base of each coral to a cinder block. Then used fishing line to tie each coral down for extra hold. If you'd like, I can email you some photos of the corals on the reef
That is so cool! Proactively thoughtful at that. Emily rocks! You might even say, Emily's coral-like rocks!
Haha cool shirt too Mara!
Ok, I'm off to the exclamation mark store to reup on supplies.
Hope to see follow ups on how well this is working. Also any chance of group printing to help out with this project.
Genius! Inspires me to want to do something.
Go Emily!
Great initiative.
Excellent clip!
I thought I read that PLA is very biodegradable in saltwater? I'm in the reefing hobby and have been reading about 3d printing parts to use in the hobby and PLA was said to be a terrible material to use as it would degrade in under 6 months?
Great video and kool idea!
This is awesome!
Awesome! 👍🐟🐠🐡👊
How is adding more plastic helping anything!? Yeah guys let’s add more micro plastics...
IPRINT
Problem: Global Warming Solution: 3D Printing Ok I'm officially done