This project will create a plastics recycling hub at Siebel Center for Design (SCD) that focuses on collecting and recycling plastic waste from laser-cut acrylics and 3D printing filaments. SCD will house, support, and fund the ongoing operation of the recycling center as a core part of the Maker Network and our sustainability efforts. This project will kick-start the recycling center with new equipment and labor to set up and test the system and develop processes. The project will utilize the loading garage at the SCD to create a plastics recycling center that focuses on plastics from laser-cut acrylic and 3D-printed filaments. We are providing a permanent space for the recycling center and making it part of the ongoing operations at SCD, which are supported by our student staff. This project aims to make this center capable of recycling all viable plastic waste from the SCD labs as well as others on campus and re-issue the recycled plastics to campus labs as a free alternative to bringing more plastics onto campus. We also hope to inspire a culture of awareness around plastic recycling, use reduction, and the effort required to make sustainable products and solutions. Our deliverables will be the Recycling Center, and we will produce and make recycled plastics available to students through the SCD Labs and others on campus.

This proposal directly funds:
1. FilaBot full recycling setup, receive and assemble equipment (student labor hours)
2. Storage bins for raw waste and sorting: Industrial rolling waste bins
3. Information posters, decals, and materials for training and administration
4. Testing equipment and developing operating processes (student labor hours)