I put PLA 3D Prints in my Compost and this happened

[@CNCKitchen]

Should there be more easily bio-degradable plastics?

[@markgard]

Of course! But they may not come around unless there is consumer demand for them.

[@techdiyer5290]

your title is off... im pretty sure it should be "I Tried composting_-_-_----_-......"

[@gammaprysem]

Definately

[@markpeterson2042]

Read this before starting the video and thought "I wonder if the coffee filament he made would be compostable", Great minds think alike!

[@desmond-hawkins]

Stefan, there's a typo in the title. It should be tried, not tired. Unless you got plastic to be really sleepy, in that case it's all good.

[@NicholasRehm]

Alright maybe the PLA didn’t compost down, but I really need you to grow some corn with that compost and make your own PLA from it

[@harperwillis5447]

Its made by fermentation with lactobacillus, which is an OTC probiotic for... lots of things. Converting lactic acid to PLA takes a while but is not hard. Pretty doable.

[@clampchowder9569]

That would be very cool

[@NoviSavvy]

He isn't Nile nor Cody

[@clampchowder9569]

@@NoviSavvyso true, they are the only two people in the world who make PLA plastic for use in 3D printers

[@NoviSavvy]

@@clampchowder9569 And film a good KZbin video with explanations, well, as long as I know- yes

[@AlphaPhoenixChannel]

I never expected the degradation to be asymmetric but your explanation about percolation of stuff between layer voids makes perfect sense. Fascinating stuff!!!

[@amelted4827]

Woah my 2 favorite KZbinrs are here!

[@CNCKitchen]

Wouldn't have expected this as well but there seems to be a mechanism that attacks layer adhesion and this explanation seemed plausible to me.

[@devluz]

@@CNCKitchen It would be interesting if we can find slicer settings that will give our prints thinner walls and a more spongy texture. Maybe with that we can optimize our prints for faster decomposition.

[@cybersilver5816]

You also have to take into account the randomness of nature. Bacteria and fungus isn't evenly distributed within a compost pile. Yes it is everywhere, but you're bound to find hot spots with more organisms than usual. Even with all the parts so close to each other, they are still exposed to different concentrations in the pile.

[@MihaiDesigns]

4:18 CNC Chicken :P Joke aside, your awesome study confirms my suspicions. Hopefully we'll be getting better degradable filament in the future.

[@nicholaslau3194]

biodegradable egg printer

[@KookyBone]

I googled some time ago how long PLA needs to degrade in a compost environment.... If I remember correctly it will need up to 8 months in a perfect condition temperature ( I think it was 40-45 degree Celsius) to start degrading... So my suggestion, do the experiment over the summer and give it more time. I think if you would have waited one year, the result would be much more showing... The Temperature from August to now is maybe to low here in Germany

[@WhenDoesTheVideoActuallyStart]

We just need more filaments blends incorporating Cellulose Diacetate, PCL, PHA, PHB, Starch, etc...

[@bruceluiz]

The problem with biodegradable plastic(apart from the part that its falsely marketed as Biocompostable) is that if they were reasonably "green", the material would have a way shorter shelf life, whuch rubs consumers and production facilities in the wrong direction. Also it would fare way worse from ambiental degradation, meaning less quality overall. The main problem is that we, as consumers, are easily misled by marketing, believing that both Quality and Green are easily achievable. Because of that we buy Industrial Grade plastics and get rid of as if they would dissapearninto thin air. As conscient 21th century adults, we must decide either if we are into the negatives of REALLY environmentally friendly plastics, or if we decide that plastic pollution (and the degradation of the planet we live in and NEED to be healthtly) is worth it. Or look at other alternative materials that are not as moldable, variated and eyecandily as plastics overall.

[@Supersctar]

@@bruceluiz how many objects are there still around made of wood, cloth, leather, papyrus, etc. that are hundreds of years old? Some have been valuable enough to preserve, some have been kept but show signs of aging, some like ancient scrolls are fragile but can still serve their purpose. However, for most of these objects they were not valuable enough to maintain or keep. Have they not for the most part returned to the soil or are in the process? The point is that the issue is not a simple trade off between biodegradability and usefulness or durability. That is a reasonable simplification yet misleading. Does it function with durability within tolerance, with maintenance within tolerance within the the environments it will be used? Does it biodegrade within a practical timeframe under conditions which are practical to create? “Practical” and “tolerance” are defined by the intersection of the demands of consumers and supply of material science.

[@JB-yu1vv]

One thing is clear: You've got really cool looking chickens!

[@JonS]

They taught him how to head bang too!

[@CNCKitchen]

Thanks! My wife and @Cody'sLab convinced me. These are silky chicken btw.

[@Mr_Yod]

@@CNCKitchen But they don't wear the 3D printed chicken arms... =(

[@timmturner]

@@Mr_Yod they bring out the whiners, complaining about them hurting the chickens :/

[@vaulttraveler3478]

Chicken and 3D Printing probably go hand in wing.

[@sidraptor]

Thank you so much for taking this issue up. A lot of folks throw away PLA thinking it's biodegradable and won't harm the environment and magically disappear. Manufacturers don't help with their 'its magically biodegradable' marketing and it seriously makes things worse.....need more videos about this to educate people on proper disposal procedures even for PLA

[@vasyapupken]

proper disposal of any modern polymer is compacting it and storing it under the ground. that's it. no biodegradation, no burning, (in fact in terms of carbon footprint biodegradation is the same as combustion but slower. )

[@deejayaech4519]

The best thing to do would probably melt it down and reuse it

[@cones914]

I collect all of my 3d print waste in case I decide to buy a filament recycler.

[@stopitnowlol6697]

Apparently you need above 60c for PLA to degrade, well above most home composts, if you have a large compost pit that is hot, you might be fine. Edit: finished the vid, you probably won’t be fine

[@seth7745]

@@stopitnowlol6697 Enzymes are key when breaking down starch and cellulose for fermentation. I wonder if simply adding the right enzymes to PLA that are activated with moisture would make it degrade faster. Also, compost bins are highly acidic and PLA is acid based. PLA might break down more quickly in an alkaline environment. Just throw in some lime?

[@paulovgha]

The way you're getting more comfortable with the camera (gracefully accompanied by your improving english) is such a nice thing to keep watching! I'm grateful for subscribing and not feeling guilty for being just too lazy to bother hitting that red button like most, haha Cheers from a brazilian fan!

[@CNCKitchen]

Thank you! 😃

[@stephandelaat]

I do composting at home. I can confirm that air rating compost significantly increases the process. All thou I do not use a drum composter I suspect it will work much better than the method you use today.

[@stephandelaat]

I’m adding some stuff Heat is a result of composting it is not a target. If you increase the temp beyond 70 degrees it will kill the bacteria and worms that do the composting. A drum composter is great for air rating the compost pile but you’ll need to watch the temperature closely. As soon as you hit 70 c you need to add water and rotate the pile. Which could be a great diy project! Another disadvantage of the the drum is that you manually need to add worms as they will not just magically appear in the drum. Another disadvantage of a drum composter is its size, which is limited. I’m 100% sure that a drum composter will work great as long as you take the considerations above into account.

[@cactiman6593]

It's aerating not air rating

[@CNCKitchen]

I'll take that into consideration! I think the key point is that you first need the high temperatures to hydrolyze the polymer chains and then the bacteria/fungi etc can do their work.

[@stephandelaat]

@@cactiman6593 hahaha, thanks 🙏

[@cactiman6593]

@@stephandelaat you're welcome

[@keatoncampbell820]

Don't knock your compost! The decomposers are healthy, the microbiome is healthy, the soil is gorgeous and the plants are happy! I think that's what's important.

[@Stettafire]

There are so many compost snobs online. The ONLY advantage to doing all the fancy stuff is you'll get compost faster. That's it. If you don't mind it being slower then the rest is fine. The only crime to humanity is throwing in random plastic, chemicals or meat. Otherwise just throw organic matter onto the pile and you're golden

[@keatoncampbell820]

@@Stettafire i love throwing in chemicals and meat! All joking aside, best compost I had was more of a pit than a pile, never could find the time to turn it or anything. And good lord did things grow out of it. We've since moved house, but you can still see the spot where the compost was bc the grass is always a little taller, and the weeds love that little spot

[@walktxrn]

The "Small Text Sample" is amusing, but doesn't take away at all from this great video

[@someguy2741]

For your new composter. Perhaps building a new chicken coop where the composter is above the chicken compartment. This way the chickens benefit from the heat of the compost and the compost benefits from the heat of the chickens... lol... maybe put the composter with a mesh wrapped around it and some paddles so the chickens will be encouraged to jump up on it and rotate it. The chickens will get some exercise... maybe shake out worm... and the composter gets turned. Chicken powered composting is the future! Put those freeloaders to work!

[@se.real.kiliong]

The sample text on to of the normal text at 7:35 totally took my brain away from the topic...

[@wardy89]

I make a couple of tons of compost a year at home, i used compost bays made of pallets and and see pretty high temps up to 70c but thats only for a phew days, it quickly cools to 40-50c ish and is normally round a mouth or so before slowly cooling down. My suspicion is that home compost heaps simply dont get hot enough for long enough to have much of an effect.

[@RomanoPRODUCTION]

16:21 Now I realize the chicks look just like you. They're so cute and fluffy

[@TheMidnightSmith]

Interesting! There are species of marine bacteria in several families, including Marinobacter, Oceanospiralles, Pseudomonas, and Alkanivorax, that can eat compounds from petroleum as part of their diet. Maybe they would be beneficial in composting these samples? Edit: that metal headbanging was on point!

[@arklanuthoslin]

This is exactly why I'm reading into research of depolymerization of pla. According to some articles I've read you just need to add some zinc acetate (which is just zinc and vinegar, sorta) and distill the pla. You'll get pure monopolymer. I forget thy exact details and don't have a link handy... Unfortunately the process is not economically viable compared to making new pla.

[@amicloud_yt]

Seems like something we could really use some government subsidies for. Subsidized PLA recycling would make the economic viability an issue to worry about later

[@CNCKitchen]

Would be happy to get some more details on that method. Send an email if you find the links!

[@yachalupson]

Danke! Important video. Please keep these tests going! Also a fan of compost, chickens & home grown veg - great life balance :)

[@thehighwayman78]

4:18 the hen with the black hair that stands on end looks so funny :)

[@fyremoon]

Perhaps you could try using a 12v immersion heater element in the core of the compost to keep the temperature at a stable 60C which will also improve the compost. You could power that with a solar cell or battery. See if the 3D printed parts break down with exposure to 60C for different time periods and see if they truly break down with industrial processes.

[@stephandelaat]

Not a good idea. Heat is not the target it a result. Heating a compost pile beyond 70 degrees will kill off the bacteria and worms which you need to….well…compost.

[@bennylloyd-willner9667]

@@stephandelaat to clarify, you do mean 70°F right? First time I read your comment it looked strange to say that 60C is above the max 70 degrees recommended in compost 😁 Maybe John meant 60°F as well, 60°C seem too extreme for compost even to a compostnoob as myself 😊

[@stephandelaat]

@@bennylloyd-willner9667 I ment Celsius. But warming up a compost pile is not the way to compost. Like i said..temperature is the result of composting…It is not the the target of composting. Actively warming a compost pile is not required for composting. It would also be 100% against the reason why people compost. You do it to save the environment.

[@bennylloyd-willner9667]

@@stephandelaat OK, I don't really get your comment then, "bad idea to have 60°C since over 70°C is bad". I mean, 60 is actually pretty far from being over 70? I'm not natively speaking English so I may just get something wrong, but it looks funny to me.

[@bennylloyd-willner9667]

@@stephandelaat I do get that good compost generates the heat by itself, but to help it along a bit (not 60-70°C) can't be all bad. Like in very cold climates where the insulation can't keep the cold out and the reaction is slowing down to almost a halt ?

[@GeekDetour]

The "They will not fall" demonstration was awesome.

[@beauregardslim1914]

You need to grind the prints up to break the polymer chains so that there are more chain-ends for enzymes to interact with. I think it is reasonable and realistic for home-composters to "mulch" prints before composting.

[@respiii]

maybe it works but then it becomes impossible to test if it is really composting or you just made a bunch of microplastic

[@beauregardslim1914]

@@respiii Too bad someone hasn't invented a way to look at things at the "micro" level. Some kind of "scope". 😀 Seriously, though, you are correct that unless Stefan is willing to determine whether the filament is being digested or just breaking into tiny particles, there isn't any point.

[@fredpinczuk7352]

You are confusing biodegradation and depolarization. Grinding PLA does nothing but turns it into microplastics. Please don't ever do that or recommend others. Yes, it will be so small you can't see it. But it will simply build up in the soil and eventually in the food chain. PLA requires special anaerobic industrial composters because it needs to be depolarized through elevated temperatures, high humidity and lack of oxygen. And it then breaks down into inert material. Biodegradation or composting, requires the element to be re-absorbed into soil and used as food for organisms. Only PHA, PCL bio-polymers does that. No other bio-polymer of combination work (including blending PLA-PHA) Yes PLA is Bio-Base, but no. It is not compostable. If you want to learn more, I recommend reading Prof J. Green from California State University (Chico, CA). book. www.amazon.com/Sustainable-Plastics-Environmental-Assessments-Biodegradable/dp/1118104811 Or check out these links for bio-degradable filaments for FDM 3D printing. www.gopha.org/ beyondplastic.com/collections/all colorfabb.com/filaments/materials/pha-filaments

[@beauregardslim1914]

@@fredpinczuk7352 Thanks for the links. I've learned a bit more about filament compostability in the months since Stefan posted this video. In fact, I am printing something in (regen) PHA right this moment. The "natural" version has a paper-like translucency and texture, and the wood-fill version gives very nice results. I may set up some composting experiments once it stops being frozen outside.

[@Chefcooken]

@@fredpinczuk7352 thanks for the links. Very informative combined with this video (hopeful that they are informative, I’ve got some reading to do now)

[@nickpaul4964]

I watched this on mute at a friends house in the living room while we bumped music and still understood it perfectly at 2am. Love to see it and cheers from the other side of the globe 🤙

[@chrisw1462]

Industrial composting optimizes the process by shredding everything that goes in. Then it carefully controls inputs of water, air, nitrogen and carbon compounds while regulating the temperature and keeping it 'homogenous' (stirred up so everything is evenly distributed). To even come close with the rotating composters, you'd have to shred the plastics, monitor the temperature and rotate it automatically, and monitor pH to determine whether it needs more nitrogen, etc. That sounds even more tedious than performing 3d printed strength tests. 🙂

[@HoffmanTactical]

Love your videos! Keep them coming.

[@lrmackmcbride7498]

Understanding how PLA degrades is important. It hydrolyzes in both acidic snd basic environments as well as high temperature if sufficient water is present. The end product is lactic acid. Further degradation happens at the surface. Meaning microplastics with their much larger surface area are more rapidly hydrolyzed. In industrrial composting one of the important steps is breaking down the material mechanically. This increases surface area and hence increases hydrolysis.

[@jameslmorehead]

My grandpa had a horizontal drum compost system many years ago. He had a heck of a green thumb that turned his acre lot into what looked like a rain forest. For his compost system, he would add raw stock, along with some already composted material as a starter culture. He would then add a pound of sugar (his barrel was 200 gallons) and wet it down. Then, he would spin the barrel about a dozen times and check the moisture, adding more water as needed. Then, once a day he would spin the barrel a few times. Every third day, he would add more raw stock. After a couple weeks, he could remove usable compost, but never more than half of what was available. Every time he removed compost, he would top it off with raw stock and repeat the water, sugar, and turning. That system was a beast at making compost. He would easily get 20-30 cubic yards of compost out of it every year.

[@ALEXA-wm4qw]

interesting experiments EVER! my kids love your cute rooster and hens. they look funky!😆

[@CNCKitchen]

Thanks. These are our silky chicken :-)

[@FusselCNC]

Eure Hühner haben ja nen super Friseur :)

[@scruffy3121]

Gotta love a video that includes a chicken taking a crap.

[@alexandrevaliquette1941]

16:06 This is epic! You are like a shy and quiet library girl, when she arrive home...

[@DiegoPunchw]

Really Nice test!! Tip for Aeration Compost: add a vertical hole tube in the center of the compost pile, like a chimney, to air pass and dont be anaerobic bottom down.

[@lawnmowerdave]

Our extension office explained that pla filament is biodegradable, but ONLY in an industrial compost setting where the average temperature stays much higher than a garden compost bin.

[@WintersKnight546]

Pestalotiopsis Microspora; spore syranges can be purchased online. It's the mushroom that can breakdown plastics. I don't know how well it would work, but it sounds like a fun experiment.

[@chrisholmquist7725]

I would really love to see the CNC Kitchen treatment given to PHA filaments. Of course the composting would be interesting, but more so the best way to print with it. Haven't used it yet myself and it sounds appealing, but sounds like a bit of a pain to print with. Thanks!

[@ex-nerd]

One other consideration, which I don't think I heard you mention, is that a lot of the colorants and additives (strengtheners, softeners, etc) can also affect both the ability to biodegrade and the toxicity if they do. I've certainly had some PLA filaments (black and purple being the worst) that smell almost as bad as ABS. Because of this, I stopped tossing my failed prints into the compost (Seattle's one of those few places with commercial composting that can handle plastics).

[@MauriceMischo]

Awesome that you put you focus on the recycling & composting of the materials 💪

[@ollielewis2344]

I'd love to see the same method applied to PHA/PHB only filaments like colorFabb's allPHA, they claim it is soil and marine compostable, but it's so hard to find any real and simple examples. However, it did seem like the PHB (closely related to PHA I think) was maybe the main reason the nonoileum changed so much?

[@gammaprysem]

Woke up just in time for yet another amazing CNC kitchen video! Greetings from Murcia

[@FairFrozen55]

Sorry to hear you are tired of composting, but it's good for the environment... I think? Great Videos as always, Stefan!

[@twanpeeters8446]

Thank you so much for making these. You're work is a major contribution sustainable product development!

[@alexandrevaliquette1941]

Maybe 2 years ago, I taught you will eventually run out of testing idea. Boy I was wrong!!! I'm a long time subscriber and you always raise the bar with nice quantitative experimentation. Sometime, I skip some part of the video (to save time). But I always come back because I feel something is missing! This mean you have a well balanced and high value delivery. Thumbs up from Montréal, as always!

[@cole3823]

for the next test you should try shredding some of the samples. I feeling like it is much more difficult for the composter to compost the samples when they are completely intact. it's also much more of a realistic test if the samples are shredded. almost everything that gets put in a compost bin gets somewhat torn apart. and I'm also assuming a industrial compost factory would shread everything as well. the only problem i can see is being able to find the shredded pieces by the end of the test. perhaps if you get more than one of the new compost bins you can dedicate one of them to just the shredded plastic, or you can put them in some sort of mesh bags that aren't made of a biodegradable material. love your videos!

[@MrKnoppersesser]

Maybe it's a good Idea to add fast biodegradable filler Material, just like the coffee. The stuff degrades fast and then offers more surface area to the slower degrading PLA.

[@McRootbeer]

I wonder if the plastic would break down more in a biodigester since it would be underwater? Either way, biodegradable plastics still have a long way to go. In the short term it might be more practical to slip small amounts of pla into the fuel for a hight temp stove. If it's hot enough, the plastic should break down and burn cleanly.

[@Alex-nl5cy]

If the compost pile is too insulated then the heat will slow down the rate of decomposition, it's a feedback system where heat is produced until the heat slows it down. Maybe a less insulated pile may have more activity and lead to higher rate of material breakdown. Also, if the rate of decomposition is based on surface area, shouldn't mean microplastics will decompose quite quickly?

[@BeefIngot]

Small note: Title says tired instead of tried

[@Ebonyqwe]

Freudian slip?

[@pirobot668beta]

When I was stationed in Korea, I saw a fungus that turned canvas tents (cellulose) into simple sugars! Point being, biological action can be very effective for breaking down polymer materials, once one finds a 'bug' that can eat them! So far, no natural biota has come along that noms on PLA directly.

[@EstBest69]

Maybe try the colorfabb's PHA which is supposed to compose faster than PLA and in the ordinary composting bin as well

[@lowelllogerwell5146]

I have a rotating composter and my only advice is very carefully scrutinize the method used to keep the door closed. Mine will open when I spin it!!! So I do not which defeats the whole purpose. I will have to derive a solution for this problem - perhaps a barrel latch - haven't tried it yet. good lick and happy comoposting!

[@fishyerik]

First off, lets recognize that when defined by what happens in 12 or 26 weeks, or 100 days, biodegradability is not about whether or not it causes a huge environmental impact long term. What du you think happens with wood in the same time, it depends on the type of wood, but some types shouldn't be very far from those results, possibly even within that range, in part of initial strength lost. Degradation is likely to accelerate, microorganisms that can make good use of the material will benefit, and increase in numbers, and given enough time, even become better at using it. Also, micro plastics, why, oh why would plastics stop degrading at some arbitrary particle size? You said it, degradation happens on the surface, the smaller the particle size the faster degradation should happen, all else equal. With blends I get it, part of it can degrade a lot faster and leave particles that takes longer time to degrade because it's another material than the first part, but when there's one type av material, nope.

[@ZerqTM]

in sweden we burn a lot of trash using very good filtering tech to prevent air polution. i think that works great with bio plastics since then at least we are not wasting petrolium based plastics that could make more senser to recycle...

[@coced]

I can't unsee that SAMPLE TEXT XD

[@karlaugustfischer998]

Danke für das Video, was zusammenfasst, was ich selbst schon einige Zeit vermutet habe. (Und mein Test zur Biokompostierbarkeit von PLA war selbst nach einem Jahr auch nicht erfolgreich)

[@KnooBill]

Stefan you should make a homestead channel this those fluffy chickens

[@tenchuu007]

Seeing your birds you need to rename the channel CNC chicken.

[@adamrak7560]

PLA microplastic is not inflammatory as others (PP, PE). Because PLA biodegrades inside the body. (It is even used as a medication dispenser, because it breaks down harmlessly) Some pigments may be inflammatory and cause problem though, so in order to make PLA microplastics non harmful, the selection of the pigments is quite important.

[@cancerix1700]

4:52 nice extrusion by that chicken

[@orhanyor]

Even tho there are videos like this, theres some people in the wild believing if you leave the PLA parts out and expose them to the sunlight for couple of days they will degrade greatly.

[@VagabondTE]

What about a test piece that's a screen? Like a net. That way instead of it just being thin there's also holes in it as well. And rather than testing strength you could check the weight.

[@_kwak]

Please investigate "Bokashi" composting. It will supercharge most composting with microbes. They even break down eggshells fairly quickly!

[@CNCKitchen]

I'll need to try that!

[@_kwak]

@@CNCKitchen if you look into "Bokashi Bran" it will be the pre-innoculated grain, should just be mix and go! If you have trouble sourcing in Germany, DM me, there are many reputable vendors I know in the US and we could get it done, for science!

[@zeal514]

How hot was your compost bin over that year? I am considering trying this, I am in Florida, and am sure I can get fairly high compost temps, with a proper bin, rotation etc. Temps are supposed to be over 60-70c in order to compot PLA. Which is like 120f+ which is really high. I might be able to obtain this with a black compost bin in the florida sun, but can't say for sure.

[@Bendezium]

Very detailed, thanks!

[@leadbird3666]

I really like this experimental oriented test. There a so many products that boast themselves as biodegradable! A follow up video with other candidates would be really nice.

[@kira07]

so you finally did it.. raycon.. omg why why

[@skvalen]

Can you create the industrial condition that is required to biodegrade PLA. That is a video i like to see.

[@olistiktok]

Thank you for this interesting long test. It would be interesting to see if the degradation process can be trigged/accelerated/catalysed with something pretty easy and natural like, soaking the PLA parts in a vinager+baking soda solution (or any other organic mix of this type) for hrs/days, at least prior to putting them in the composter. Or so. 🤷🏽‍♂️

[@xelaxander]

Those chickens are so fluffffffffyyyyy!!!!

[@PureRushXevus]

7:35 SAMPLE It's funny, chep's latest video also has a little error with sample text in it. Coincidence? :P

[@filetdelumiere5037]

Very interesting video ! Apart from effects of composting and to complete your strength tests, it would be nice to see how the different PLA, PET, PETG, ABS, NYLON, PC... etc... perform versus time (six months later, one year later, ...etc) in indoor or outdoor conditions.

[@arrgh-]

Hi Stefan, "bio-degradable" heißt deshalb nicht "kompostierbar" und darf auf gar keinen Fall in die braune Tonne. Es gibt nur ganz wenige Firmen, die PLA sauber auflösen/recyceln können unter bestimmten Umgebungsbedingungen. Wenn man mit den Recyclingfirmen redet. wäre ihnen ABS mit Typenstempel viel lieber, denn das können sie sauber wiederverwenden.

[@marvingudel605]

I would really like to see how PLA would behave in one of those biogas plants which are owned by many farmers in my region. Maybe there is a potential to even extend this to regular packaging. Used packaging could easily be supplied to local biogas plants. It may only be hard to seperate waste made of PLA from other plastics since most people probably won't seperate PLA packaging from regular packaging.

[@boemioofworld]

4:26 rock'n'roll chickens!

[@huzbum]

I agree this is definitely not industrial compost conditions, but while it's probably typical, it's not a proper hot compost. A hot compost will consistently reach 60c for many days, but it requires the right balance of materials and turning every day or two.

[@gendragongfly]

Instead of going bigger, why not go smaller and more controlled? Build a heated and controlled environment to do the composting on a small scale. You want to have a stable temperature of about 35 °C degrees on the outside and 65 degrees °C on the inside of your compost pile, and good ventilation while maintaining a relative humidity above 60%.

[@Fanzindel]

You put the pieces back in the pile right? Would be good to know how they hold up over longer time.

[@severpop8699]

Although ecenomically speaking is cheaper for the end user to just get rid of the unwanted prints in the compost bin, where 100 days are not enough, technically you need to keep them in there for good measure 2 or 3 years, but is cheap and doable, my take is that in such case you need to buy more filament to make your prints, and that has an impact on mother nature either way, oraginc sourced raw materials or inorganic sourced ones. So lowering such impact is more important than cheap composting the undesired results/supports, etc. Hence re extruding your unwanted prints into filament, even if the add on of same material pellets, makes much more sense to me (not to the pellets industry, if you make yourself a reused filament mix of 60% printed matrials and 40% new pelets, they are actually losing to you 60% of their sales) I know that requires some expensive machineries to make sense, this is why I se it more like a local cooperative of makers that run such a small shop based on voluteering a this stage. (I calculate in my mind some 30.000 euro and a lot of volunteer hours) I have no clue where Stefan lives, but I bet that if he gives a shout out on a 30Km radius he will find a few hundred interested folks, and if only 50 of them join seriously they can make it happen in 2 months, up and running. The others might choose to contribute be it by bringning in their already sorted by material and eventually colour unwanted prints, maybe give in 10 Kg against a one Kg newly extruder reel of 60/40 material, or by purchasing from the cooperation point (instead of Bezos point) to help them make sense and grow roots. I dare you Stefan, I double dare you. And I always am ready to help with advice, links and other indications as much as I can. I bet if Thomas Sanladerer does it too (hoping he leives away from you so he creates another cluster) and if we can convince a few more influencers around the globe, maybe this quiet movement can take place in a year or two everywhere. And once you have the setup and the volunteers, you can also talk to the local councils to direct to your place all the plastics dropped by the public in their waste recycling centers (and get paid by ton for receiving it), and sort it on categories, colors, you can make them filament too, instead of having them either burned somewhere or landfilled somewhere lese. Let's take Munchen for instance, how many people own 3D printers there (irrelevant, most of them do not use them at all or too little) maybe hundreds of thousands. How many of them actually use them enough to be bothered by they unwanted prints? Maybe thousands. I think it can work fine there, or Bonn, Berlin, Hanover, Frankfut, Hamburg, etc. And once the movement is generated, smaller density areas might find their way too with your expert help (yep, being one or two years ahead of them will make you loo "experts")... lol.

[@nesnduma]

I was thinking about organizing something like this in the Brussels area. Recycling printed parts seems the way to go.

[@severpop8699]

@@nesnduma Good, let's get things rolling than. Wee ned to prepare a short page with the requirements, strategy and resources, than you can spread the word based on that, and see how many folks would join you. Than you can start it up once things have fallen in place.

[@MannyJazzcats]

Would be interesting to know if any of these could be processed by the same insects that can break down polystyrene

[@ENNEN420]

Why do your chickens have hair like they just got a club penguin 30 day membership

[@r3v3rs3r]

If you can get the bio composin "industrial like" can you try to make a 1000days test for comparision?

[@T1Ledlie]

For anyone wondering, the intro music is Thunderbird by Ooyy.

[@heckyes]

Thank you so much for doing this. I am very sad at the results.

[@Made_by_Henne]

Wanted to test this for a while now. Thanks for taking this off me ;-)

[@christophalexander4542]

Interesting test and results! PLA and related may not be the cure-all bullet for plastic waste, but at least it doesn't require fossil resources and can be grown right here in our yards, instead of being shipped across half the globe first. (Oil tankers probably don't use solar as fuel. I'd imagine they rather use refinery left-overs...)

[@FelipeOtamendi]

A question I have is if burning pla is carbon neutral like burning wood and how toxic its fumes are. Maybe I could use old prints as fuel for home heating if it's safe and carbon neutral.

[@pn8902]

If the PLA was dissolved into a solvent could that help with complete decomposition? As the thinner material of the nonoilen and chunks of the benchy were decomposing, having it in liquid form could help accelerate it.

[@wxfield]

That's not how they regard "bio-degradable" plastics. There's an assumption that especially with plastics, they will be discarded on TOP of the earth where they will be exposed to UV radiation in order to decompose.

[@FreedomToRoam86]

I’m curious how the plastics are doing now, 2 yrs later?

[@greywolf2809]

Your test bench sounds like the motel 6 theme song

[@anoble1]

It would be really interesting to see how they held up in salt water. At least to me lol

[@SlowCuberThirstix]

My clleague at work put a few small prints into a salted water jar. After half a year they look literally identical.

[@CNCKitchen]

There are plenty of papers exploring that and the lack of high concentrations of bacteria and other "life" makes these biodegradation processes so slow.

[@mrphysics2625]

Color in the plastic is actually proportional to the integrity of the molecular bonding so that alone shows that theres been some degrading. Being that the time span was only 100 days its probably less than 1% of the half life lol

[@ipoddrake]

i can confidently say this is the first time ive seen a chicken poop

[@CNCKitchen]

Haha, just noticed that scene now^^

[@these.are.my.things]

Would love to see if PLA is digestible if small enough In a simulated animal gut. Just to see if microplasic build up of PLA microplastics Is a problem. We sand PLA and other plastics all the time but where does that plastic go. Ends up in the water and in animals(is my guess). Does PLA digest when in an animal when it is ground that fine.

[@lrmackmcbride7498]

Yes it does. PLA microplastic is much more easily degraded.

[@lowellalleman]

I've watched a few other videos on this topic, and as usual, your take is excellently done and significantly more informative and thoughtful. I've been trying to be informed on the topic so I wasn't sure if I'd learn anything new, but I should know better by now! Once again I walk away from your video more informed. Specifically the quadrant analogy was great! Great stuff!

[@CNCKitchen]

Glad you enjoyed it!

[@acspider10]

Great video Stefan!

[@fredwupkensoppel8949]

THESE CHICKENS ARE SO FLUFFY HOW CAN YOU NOT CUDDLE THEM ALL DAY

[@Peter_Schluss-Mit-Lustig]

I can say from experience that GreenTec-pro needs very little cooling during printing and the 5015 fan on the Prusa might have been too powerful

[@CNCKitchen]

Thanks for the advice. Would be great if Extrudr included that in the PS profile.

[@Peter_Schluss-Mit-Lustig]

@@CNCKitchen yeah Maybe go with 25-40% cooling or something like that. After all the material is supposed to solidify at about ~ 140°C

[@madprops526]

you have beautiful fluffy chickens.

[@infossil]

danke, es braucht mehr davon.

[@vincentbarkley9121]

Terrific video. Thank you.

[@anoble1]

Loved this video. Thanks for all your hard work.