Dive Brief:

• A company based in Vancouver, Canada has used a 3-D printer to produce a wrench made exclusively of recycled plastic found in the ocean.
• Plastic Bank, a sustainable Vancouver-based company, partnered with engineers from the University of British Columbia to construct a machine that is fed discarded plastics transformed into long plastic filaments. 
• The company now seeks to establish exchange centers around the globe. These facilities would be located near water in areas teeming with plastics. People could exchange plastics for cash and credits. Credits would be to create an object using a 3-D printer. Individuals could potentially start a business selling products fabricated by the printer.

Dive Insight:

Plastic Bank plans to open its first exchange center in Lima, Peru within a few weeks. The company is also considering exchanging credits to fund education. 

Researchers are testing the uses of recycled plastics in other settings involving a 3D printer: NASA scientists are exploring using a 3D printer fed by recycled plastics to manufacture needed items in space.