γ°οΈProject: Plastic Kitchen
A simple method for making things with recycled plastic using only items from the supermarket. This guide includes how to make a sheet and how to make a basic hook.
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Plastic Kitchen is a simple method for making things with recycled plastic using only items from the supermarket. The process was developed by staff and members of Machines Room from 2016 - 2020 and the technique has been taught to many artists, designers and students since. The method came out of the experience of building Precious Plastics machines and a need to simplify plastic recycling for use in teaching and prototyping. By coincidence the method is similar to Plastic Smoothie method by @flowalistik, who has excellent documentation and examples of his process. The slight difference with the Plastic Kitchen is the use of a sandwich toaster for creating sheets and the focus on using milk bottle HDPE (is this a British thing?).
Tools
You will need:
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For making a sheet
Toastie maker Β£30
Blender: Β£20-Β£40
Grip clamps: Β£10
Scrap of 18mm Plywood: Free
A cup for measuring: Free
A HDPE bottle for melting: Free
4 coins: Β£4 ...
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For making a simple hook:
(optional extra) Deburring tool
Part 01: How to make a sheet
βWear a dust mask when shredding and melting the plastic
It is best to clean milk bottle when the milk is fresh (otherwise it stinks!) and then you need to fully try the plastic.Cut and fit the whole bottle into the blender (include the coloured cap for the marbled effect)
Use 4 coins in the corners of the hotplate to achieve a consistant thickness.
Once the hotplate is hot, fill a cup and flip it onto the plate. Form a mound for melting, spreading out the shredded plastic doesn't work and will cause your sheet to have holes in it.
Raise the toastie maker up on a piece of wood and clamp it tight.
Leave for approximately 10 minutes (you may want to run tests for different times and materials) keep tightening the clamps until fully clamped.
Unplug and leave to cool.
Once the sheet is cooled it will be unstuck and ready to use.
Extras:
You can speed up the process by cutting two sheets of metal to sandwich the plastic between.
Clamp it together and dunk in a bucket of water to cool quickley
Keep them clamped as they cool or the plastic will wrinkle.
You can also laser cut metal molds and create cookie cutter moulds with thin strips of metal.
Part 02: How to make a hook
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Trace out your shape around a ruler and score (don't try to cut) with a stanley knife.
Clamp the scrap of plywood along the score line.
Push down and pull up to snap the sheet. Repeat with all your score lines
Use the lip of the toastie maker to heat the line you want to bend.
Clamp the bend into place to cool (if you do not, it will cool flat)
Chamfer and smooth the edges of your hook with fine grit sand paper, a knife or deburring tool.
Pilot and counter sink your fixing holes
You have a hook!
Example projects
Gaiga > wikifactory page
by @edenbunce2 is a flat pack lamp which aims to visualise the creation of something desirable and beautiful from ubiquitous waste.
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The Postable Garden > Wikifactory page
By @benpalmer is a laser-cut housing for air plants that uses a recycled plastic sheet made from old polypropylene plastic plant pots to create a unique structure that can be flat-packed and fitted through a standard letterbox.
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Recycleroo > Wikifactory page
By @ewanbrammall is a recycling scheme for cafes so they no longer have to pay for recycling to be taken away and something of value can be created from something that is actually a financial loss. This project will propose a recycling scheme for cafes as well as showing a possible product that can be made.
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PLA Sheet > Wikifactory page
By @jpoulton is a lamp shade designed to be cut from 3D printing waste PLA.
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