Words by Smiley Team
To tackle wastage from single-use face masks, two students at Warsaw University of Technology and the University of Edinburgh have invented the world’s first-ever face mask recycling system.
Twenty-year-olds Mike Ryan and Aleksander Trakul won the James Dyson award in Poland for designing the system to recycle 3-ply disposable face masks.
In the early stages of the lockdown, the pair responded to the insufficient PPE in the Polish healthcare system by 3D printing face shields and handing them out for free. While their face shields were made from relatively eco-friendly corn starch, they realised that regular face masks are causing an increasing hazard for the environment, with around 3.4 billion discarded every day.
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“Everybody everywhere is using masks and throwing away loads of them every day. When we did the research on just how many face masks we’re throwing out, we were both staggered by the numbers,” said Mike. “It was then that we decided we should do something useful in space.”
Using their free time alongside studying mechanical and biomedical engineering, the childhood friends set about designing a prototype for the system.
Gutting an old vending machine, they realised they could refill it with the mechanism necessary to melt the masks, creating a solid block of plastic that could be cut into pellets and reused.
They are also considering how to incentivise people to use the machines, were they to be rolled out across public spaces.
“In an ideal world, people wouldn't need any motivation other than saving the planet to dispose of their face masks in a sustainable way,” said Aleksander. “But unfortunately that is not the case, so at the moment we're working on how to make people want to use our machine rather than chuck their face masks in a regular bin.”
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One of the ideas they’ve had is to give their system a glass front, just like the original vending machine that encases it. That way people will be able to watch their face mask going through the recycling stages. They are also inspired by recycling machines in Germany and Austria, for which you insert a bottle to receive money back in exchange.
As they develop the prototype further, they are hoping the finalised device will attract interest far and wide, for companies and authorities to introduce it wherever possible. They await with great anticipation, to hear how they did at an international level in the James Dyson awards, from which the prize money could help push their design closer to completion.
“The mechanism itself isn't very, very complicated and I would say it’s very helpful,” explained Mike. “Because it's basically a big shredder with giant heating elements to turn the shredded masses into a filament. If we can get people to start coming to our machine and throwing face masks in we will be successful. But to make this happen we need to have as many of these machines as possible in as many places as possible.”
