Precious Plastic is an open-source project with one simple mission: to empower people world-wide to fight plastic pollution by helping them turn plastic waste into valuable items.

What from the outside appears to be an old ship container, is inside Precious Plastic’s answer to the almost impossible question: How do we fight plastic pollution? In 2013 founder Dave Hakkens transformed an old shipping container into a plastic recycling workspace that transforms plastic waste into valuable items, ranging from coasters and decorative bowls to lamps and chairs.

Four machines are needed to breath new life into old plastic items, which can either be purchased from Precious Plastic’s website or built using the free online tutorials. One shreds, another extrudes the plastic flakes into lines, a third melts and molds the plastic and a fourth is used to heat up and compresses the plastic into new shapes.

Since 2013, the concept has been shipped worldwide, and the organisation has mapped the community of the more than 200 workspaces that populate the planet. Simplicity and affordability are at the heart of the design, and blueprints, marketing materials, and video tutorials are freely available so anyone can create their own workspace regardless of economic, sociocultural and geographic circumstances. Products created can then be sold on the company’s online e-marketplace.

300 million tons of plastic are produced every year, often for single-use items. These are usually designed to last for hundreds of years but can wreak havoc if they end up in nature after only being used for minutes. Precious plastic is working to turn this risk into an entrepreneurial opportunity for all.

Decent Work and Economic Growth
The simplicity, accessibility and affordability of the workspace makes it scalable for all. Factoring in the bazar, Precious plastic both creates local jobs and promotes economic growth.

Responsible Consumption and Production
Each minute one million plastic bottles are bought around the world, many of which end up as trash. Precious Plastic helps to collect and transform waste into valuable items.

Life Below Water
Precious Plastic aims to reduce the estimated 8 million tons of plastic that enters the oceans every year, which can be toxic for marine life if ingested.