Optimizing the HDPE recycling process for ArtMalawi

While economically developed countries have established plastic waste management systems and continuously improve recycling technologies, low-income countries like Malawi still face significant challenges in managing plastic waste. This inadequacy poses severe threats to both the environment and public health. The organization ArtMalawi, in collaboration with Waste Advisers, aims to address this issue by collecting plastic waste from the Mudi River in Blantyre, Malawi, through their initiative "Waste2Education." Their goal is to repurpose the collected plastic waste into school desks. This study focuses on enabling ArtMalawi to scale its operations in response to growing demand while maintaining the sustainability and efficiency of its plastic recycling process. Key improvements targeted in this research include enhancing the quality and throughput of the plastic sheets produced. Specifically, the work addresses various issues in the process, such as improper adhesion of plastic flakes, dilatation and lack of structural integrity in the sheets, as well as the excessive use of silicone oil, which has led to high costs. Furthermore, this study explores the enhancement of throughput by constructing a Cold Press based on the open-source technology of Precious Plastic to accelerate the cooling process, thus resolving the bottleneck in ArtMalawi's manufacturing process. The findings illustrate the potential for optimizing plastic sheet quality by controlling the plastic input source, refining the temperature and pressure settings, and selecting appropriate mold materials. Although the Cold Press could not be completed within the timeframe of this project, the feasibility of building such equipment in Malawi is discussed, offering insights into future possibilities for further process improvements.