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The Trashpresso mobile plastic waste recycling platform is hailed as the world's first such system and is a finalist for the 2021 World Design Impact Award.
The industrial-grade Trashpresso, created by Taiwanese engineering, design and manufacturing company Miniwiz, continues the company's mission to upgrade and recycle consumer and industrial waste.
The solar Trashpresso is installed in a 40-foot container and is an integrated solid waste recycling production line. The company said that it can recycle up to 50 kilograms of waste per hour. Convert industrial and domestic waste into building tiles for indoor or outdoor decoration, flooring or insulation materials. These tiles are made from a series of plastic waste materials-bottles and lids, bags, wrapping paper, and even razors, syringes, gloves and Styrofoam.
The company explains on its website: “It is cheaper to transport waste into the form of tiles, which promotes industrial scale.” “In recycling plants, tiles can be upgraded through cycles such as yarn, injection or extrusion.” The device can upgrade the polymer to a thermoplastic with a melting point lower than its ignition point.
The Trashpresso production line can contain various equipment according to needs and locations, including shredders or compactors, washing machines, dehumidifiers, dryers, ovens and other stations. Air and water filters further protect the environment.
Two Trashpresso production lines are in operation, one in Asia and one in Europe. The company stated that Trashpresso is equipped with a backup diesel generator, which is useful for Trashpresso 1's Tibetan mission in snowy conditions. Trashpresso 2 was unveiled at the 2017 London Design Festival and was developed for Pentatonic, a company that manufactures consumer goods from recycled waste. According to Miniwiz spokesperson Valentina Chiu, the company recently launched a "smarter and smaller" automatic version, as shown in the video.
The company said that by converting a range of plastics—PS, PP, PET, LDPE, HDPE, etc.—to ceramic tiles, Trashpresso “is part of a larger plan to achieve a circular economy.” Open access to materials and product data and shared knowledge about polymers.” The Miniwiz R&D team “is developing new portable recycling production lines that can work independently or in a closed loop.”
Miniwiz even specified how much plastic a tile has. For example, a tile can be made of five plastic bottles or 50 bottle caps and small rings.
The World Design Influence Award was established in 2011 by the World Design Organization (WDO), "aim to increase the visibility and recognition of socially responsible design projects worldwide," WDO said. WDO, headquartered in Montreal, advocates "designing for a better world, promoting and sharing innovative knowledge driven by industrial design to improve the economic, social, cultural, and environmental quality of life."
The winner will be announced during the virtual world design seminar on November 23. All three finalists will present their projects in a moderated panel discussion. To register for the event, please visit the WDO website.
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