{"id":17733,"date":"2014-07-07T13:11:33","date_gmt":"2014-07-07T19:11:33","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/wordpress-367309-1145705.cloudwaysapps.com\/?p=17733"},"modified":"2014-07-07T13:11:33","modified_gmt":"2014-07-07T19:11:33","slug":"can-home-3d-printer-ever-really-green","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/sustainablog.org\/articles\/can-home-3d-printer-ever-really-green\/","title":{"rendered":"Can a Home 3D Printer Ever Really Be Green?"},"content":{"rendered":"
<\/a><\/p>\n As Adele Peters noted earlier this year over at Fast Co.Exist<\/a>, 3d printing has developed a reputation for being green… but doesn’t necessarily deserve it. Sure, it minimizes some waste, and saves some transportation emissions… but, as currently configured, the energy used to melt plastic filament will likely cancel out any waste reduction on those fronts. What if you shifted to a filament made from used plastic? Maybe even used plastic harvested from the ocean<\/a>? That’s certain a step forward… right? \u00a0What if a home 3d printer used waste soda and water bottles to print products? That also seems like an environmental win… doesn’t it?<\/p>\n That’s the premise of the EkoCycle Cube<\/a>, a 3d printer from Cubify\/3DSystems. Company creative director Will.i.am explains the benefits in this short video:<\/p>\n https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/watch?v=WwsOy3SP8ek<\/p>\n Impressed? Ready to go out and spend $1200 on your own home 3d printer? I’ve got to admit, I’m a bit underwhelmed… a feeling similar to what I had with Coca-Cola’s other bottle reuse project, 2nd Lives<\/a>. While watching this video, or browsing the webpage for the Ekocycle, I can’t help but think “I don’t see anything here that I want to be able to make… and if I did want it, I’d go to the dollar store.”<\/p>\n