Turning Plastic Waste into Sunglasses

[@BrothersMake]

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[@ground_news]

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[@Slavicplayer251]

you should be able clean the ldpe using a base like sodium hydroxide because of pe’s base resistance and then melt the ldpe and work it into a hdpe mixture

[@cojomo123]

27 minutes ago Fantastic idea's, the case is brilliant, folding flat instead of having to carry a bulky case around with you, superb, new subscriber, look forward to many more ideas. Used to work with plastics, colour matching products, then producing compounds, master batch and pigments, so great seeing what your doing recycling plastics, so much can and could be done in this very necessary area of recycling plastic, so much waste that can be saved and reused instead of littering our planet, and being a danger to many, if not all, living things, impressive work👍🥃.

[@joshmagrum3552]

they look great! one option would be to let buyers choose their frame and lens separately, then eventually you could see what colors sell the best and stock more of those

[@MakersMuse]

Would you guys consider making a batch in that neon orange or pink in future? :P Such a sweet use of recycled plastic!

[@KubedPixel]

Amazing as always chaps. Just a thought for the groove making.. you could use a depth stop jig or a CNC to make that process easier and quicker and possibly safer as delicate hands won't be close to spinny cutty things.

[@andreafeelsfantastic]

For the clear LDPE: you could iron them into strong fabric like you did with the plastic bags, and sew clear backpacks for kids. (A lot of kids’ schools require clear backpacks so they can’t hide contraband.)

[@virginiasimer4171]

You could consider offering the ground up plastic to crafters for use in whatever they are making. The plastic from the front of the cases could be used to make small resealable bags to put the plastic grinds into. Great job guys.

[@aprildegele1510]

One of the easiest things you can do with those sleeves is punch holes in them to fit into a notebook insert. Then, you could make a recycled notebook cover, screw or imbed the binder ring into the spine for a photo organizer. Or, you can just do a front and back cover and use Chicago Screws to insert as many of those sleeves as needed. With added extensions to the screws and no spine, it can be expanded for quite a substantial depth. Or, since few folks have photos any longer (except for old ones), the same concept could be used for a seed book. Seeds sealed properly and organized in the sleeves ... or a simple way to store dried herbs in a small space, or as a scrap fabric organizer (depending on the size of the sleeve), or a fiddly-bit organizer for crafting ... so many options. They wouldn't be acid-free, so probably not great for paper crafts that need to last forever, but certainly good enough for anything that will be sealed in a small zip, like seeds and small amounts of herbs, tiny fabric cut-offs, dried flowers ... endless possibilities.

[@HeirOfNothingInParticular]

Good thinking!

[@meltorme-ntor2933]

You SHOULD be proud of all that you do! And these sunglasses are awesome! Good job! And, just for the record, we *do* have all our DVDs still. We won't get rid of them because we still watch them, even with streaming services available. Some things you just can't get on streaming. 🙂

[@eugenetswong]

DVDs are way better than streaming, because of the special features. I've always enjoyed watching them just as much as the main feature.

[@guaiqueritech]

Advice: Rip them (digitize them into your computer) as a back-up measure, as they scratch, get mold and become unreadable over time

[@dawsie]

Same here and I prefer to have my own collections the shows and movies I love the most ❤

[@dawsie]

@@guaiqueritechI have had some of mine for 20 years now and they are still in top condition as the day I bought them. The get cleaned before being put back into the case.

[@guaiqueritech]

@@dawsie that’s great.. thing is: I live in the Caribbean, and humidity is through the roof… that’s why I advocate for ripping the DVD before it’s damaged 😁 may not happen, but I’d rather be prepared

[@XXCoder]

If you boil LDPE sheets in right kind of oil, then take it out and press as much oil out as possible, you have infinitely self-lubricating plastic for say bearings etc. It is made less recycling though so dunno if best way to do it.

[@stellaaniston9774]

Asmr tingles guys, you could do a second channel just crunching those cases. Also….that sound, record it & sell the sound bite to sound studios, it works great for places in movies where they need a crunchy sound added in like walking on gravel, horse hoof sounds etc. my two cents, hope it makes a dollar sound ❤

[@BrothersMake]

Haha thank you - that’s a good idea!

[@samuelkellock]

Awesome video I'm glad you liked our work from Sustainable Design Studio 🖖

[@jon545]

Wow ! Congratulations on those cool shades . I think ya'll have outdone yourselves on this one . Good to see the old wheels can still spin hahaha . We are only making coasters , flower pots and jewelry and an occasional clock but you help save the planet and give me new ideas to put to good use . Have a great day and keep on melting ! On a lighter note we finally got a vent hood to make our workshop safer to breathe in

[@BrothersMake]

Thanks so much! 🤙🏽 great to hear you’re recycling safely!

[@eugenetswong]

Jon, good job.

[@jon545]

thanks :)@@eugenetswong

[@thecrazy8888]

Make a jig for cutting the groove, so you can keep the same distance, you just need a stopper to rest the front of the frame against. Same for drilling those holes, take that jig a step further, and add a double press drill. You could DIY something easily with T slotted aluminum extrusions from McMaster and cheap drills from HarborFreight.

[@numberoneappgames]

You can always make the covers into filament for 3d printing. :D A computer learning arm can make the grooves on the frames efficiently every time if you teach it how to or a cnc machine.

[@guslarscheid3606]

How ironic! You all will be happy to hear that my country just outlawed plastic sunglasses! My country is doing its part to save the universe, I know you guys are all on board with this law!

[@gregmasterson-verified-8959]

That's great news! The sooner everyone stops buying plastic things, the sooner businesses cannot capitalize on selling us plastic waste.

[@unknownsauce3768]

What country are you from?

[@eugenetswong]

That'a an insane law, in my opinion.

[@guslarscheid3606]

@@eugenetswong Why? My country doesn't want plastic waste that anybody is selling. The government is just making sure we don't accidentally buy any plastic waste

[@eugenetswong]

@@guslarscheid3606If you can't buy plastic waste, then it is pretty much impossible to recycle plastic. It's too bad.

[@peachy-skungus4843]

Amazing stuff ❤. Maybe a weird request, but would you consider making litter boxes, litter scoops, or something for cats and dogs?

[@J1P2K]

I will be keeping my DVDs, cases and all, because you never know when physical media will come back again.

[@gusser2121]

Cool idea and fantastic execution! Yes, making lenses will be difficult. They need to be optically neutral or they will spoil people's vision. Cheers!

[@BrothersMake]

For sure! Thank you for watching 🤙🏽

[@stiffk666]

Omg the mind numbing tediousness of piece by piece mould filling and leg numbing operating the jack and drill. Then cutting the grooves??? The man hours looked horrendous, so awesome job sticking with it and ending up with a great product. That is true dedication.

[@FullRythym]

Could the thin plastic sheets be turned into a stained glass sort of art?

[@noaccount2494]

Purple would be great. Also if you ever make a pair that can fit over regular glasses that'd be great. Sadly can't wear these ones since I wear glasses

[@EarthfueledEditing]

I absolutely love your guys' business and that you're sharing how you're creating all your products! It's super inspiring and making me consider trying to reuse the plastic that gets consumed in our home 🥰

[@MaltandMake]

Great job guys! I'd love to see if you can do a classic calico frame.

[@JosephCornishV]

Wow! Cool process! Maybe the next glasses mold could include simple snap in place hinge joints for the glasses instead of needing the extra drilling and screws process. These newer glasses mold could not require the grooves cutting process too! So much work could be eliminated with a better mold design, but I appreciate the work you guys put into these uniquely DVD recycled glasses. Love the recycling! Keep it up you guys!

[@lostmydetails8646]

Just discovered your channel, from Auckland and Waihi beach , New Zealand. Absolutely love what you’re doing and still managing to help the wahine here with the help of sale of the Māori designs. Respect bro

[@jozefhercegml.6224]

You could use the plastic sleeves to make trassparent book cover. Solder them together as i did.

[@alexzandramorris2817]

Fantastic!! I've recently gotten interested in watching people recycle PETG bottles into 3d printing filament. I am curious if you could make recycled 3d printing filament from the old dvd cases. Feel like this would be something up your alley. Thanks for the amazing video!

[@miles_quartz]

you guys are brilliant! there's so much that goes into designing a simple pair of sunglasses that i never even considered. massive round of applause to hana for carving each one by hand, that's incredible!! I'm still learning about the different types of plastics and how they can be recycled (big thanks to your channel) i think you guys should try phone cases maybe, it's so cool how sustainable design studio is working with small creators as well, if i had a workshop like this i would make toys :)

[@eldoneyc6926]

Great idea and product! How about creating a clip-on shades for people who are already wearing glasses? People, like myself who wear glasses do not have the options of shades. We don't get much options for clip-ons as they come in limited sizes and design are dull. We need them outdoors and we want to look cool too! I think it will be an extremely cool addition.

[@DrLolzworth]

15:28 bummer you all lost your loops in the ocean like that. A nice perk about the case is they would have floated in it, being cork and all!

[@BrothersMake]

They float by themselves!

[@roxannkays1117]

So you need to make some which go over regular glasses as there are still people who wear glasses.The sleeves could be used by crafters.Colors to consider,pink,red,and purple Think maybe children's glasses would be great also.Good luck .If they fit over glasses I would buy them.

[@NyanyiC]

I have recently started buying dvds from a second hand store and a cheap dvd drive also second hand. I love the offline entertainment watching old classics. I return them to be resold when I'm done

[@NyanyiC]

@dannymiller212 sure

[@ConstantXplorer]

Excellent idea. Hopefully, it's something you can all sustain in your lineup of products. I dig the blue and black is always classic. You need a green or clear. Yellow is one of my fave colors...maybe try that as well.

[@twotone3070]

Fantastic achievement. I made a sun shade for my 7" monitor from black DVD cases. No shredding required, but as PP is such a slippery substance I had to bolt it together with tiny bolts.

[@iiyamii5554]

Use gold and silver cases with white and grey to give a fancy look to the marble effect. You could also try gradient effects. I'd say the sleeves would work for simple and cute diy projects. Most of my ideas are more of a cutesy diy style which doesn't fit the channel, but you could collab with someone with that vibe, which would also appeal to a different demographic and share your message with more people! A sheet of clear plastic can be used to write and erase things. They can be placed over white to mimic a white board. Left clear, you can place it in front of you towards a scene you want to draw and trace over the image you see with markers, to assist with the drawing process. It can also be used to create windows on containers that aren't see-through (ex. boxes), to make things easier to find, or even drawers and cabinet windows. Looking at a starbucks drink I got on the supermarket, maybe the sleeves can also be used for cup covers that prevent spilling, but are also transparent so you can see what you're drinking, I's say it's useful for kid's parties. Can also be used on photo frames, especially frames that will have a tendency to fall (ex. house with pets or children) since they won't shatter. Could also glue them over cute paper images to make them waterproof and durable. Maybe it's not really your style, but you could also add glitter between two layers to make simple shakeable toys, heart or star shaped would be extra cute, that can be added to notebook covers, or turned into cute keychains. If you can make them create a more 3d shape that can be filled with some thick liquid where the glitter floats, even better. I really like @aprildegele1510's idea of food baggies since my mom uses them a lot. One thing we use baggies for is to keep each cat's food weighed and separated, since they're on a diet. Out of all of these ideas, I think the one that wastes less material is to use rectangular pieces (container windows and photo frames), cutting off the bendy part of the sleeves and weaving it into tiny baskets, because tiny baskets are always useful.

[@MakerCuisine]

Truly love this and the process you guys took to get to the finished product. The sunglasses look great, and i think it would be cool if you did a lava colored pair.

[@choschiba]

Absolutely awesome. I really wish I could give it a try myself. Great looking results!! I can imagine how much work you must have put into achieving those results.

[@andrewgalbreath2101]

Great to hear your newest project is a success! I just started recycling hdpe bc of y'all

[@eugenetswong]

What are you going to make?

[@andrewgalbreath2101]

@@eugenetswong Probably gonna start with a mallet, then we'll see what else I can think up

[@eugenetswong]

@@andrewgalbreath2101Maybe make a bunch of rectangles that can sold as is. This allows people to customize cutting boards.

[@ratscats9456]

I like the Blue Rays. 😊

[@BrothersMake]

Thanks!

[@eugenetswong]

Hello, from Canada. Wow, guys. I'm impressed. I feel like buying a set of frames for my regular glasses, but I think that I need to make sure that they fit. I suggest that you look into making hard hats for construction work.

[@JesperMakes]

Hey Brothersmake! Just got myself a pair of your "Loops" and I'm looking forward ro try them on. Turning DVD cases into shades - that's recycling level 1000! 🕶 Loving the thought you put into the whole process. By the way, ever considered making a coffee mug out of recycled materials? You know, coffee solves everything! ☕ What's next on your recycling agenda? Cheers!

[@j87waldo]

i am so excited and started echo bricking and saveing and washing all plastic cause of yall i have a mass amount of green pouch lids lol

[@j87waldo]

there is a guy who was making a machine that turned plastic into a diesel i dont know if he did but the clear sleeves would go in there

[@greenpepper5883]

This is so awesome! I have a strong urge to be part of the movement when watching this video, love the blueray one, would have bought if I myself wears sunglasses

[@bkucenski]

You could wrap the bit with plastic so that the glasses can be pressed against it to get the perfect depth for the lens

[@anabeave4713]

Can you heat press the clear ldpe sleeve into raincoats? Or do that with bags?

[@Mark_Agamotto1313_Smith]

Great video, and even greater idea. For a colour combination idea, I doubt you could do blue, pink, white, pink, blue. So, what about just blue/pink/white marble?

[@MarkMichalowski]

They could try the different colour combinations from the different LGBTetc flags.

[@CraigSchubert]

Awesome work! Cool to see how much work goes into making a quality repeatable product like this. 🙂

[@AlishaN-yh5nf]

The thin plastick sleevs from the frunt can be used for backing sheets when making window stickers and are purfict to move window stickers

[@kmdc333]

Could the clear plastic sleeves be sewn to make clear bags? Like for a concert?

[@Arthurledur]

Hi guys, congrats for your new product ! I m a hudge fan of your work and i am also in the frame industry in a french brand. I hope u will go to the SILMO in october to talk with u and exchange our know-how. :D

[@Obot1121]

Black, Purple, White, and Blue would be a cool combination to see.

[@JeffreyBaconBacon]

You mentioned that you receive a lot of plastic donations. I like making things like the ones that you make, but, because I try to "vote" against excessive plastic manufacturing by minimizing my own purchases of plastic-containing goods, I rarely have the necessary raw materials on hand. I would love to see a video on how to quickly and efficiently semi-sorted discarded plastics. What kinds of business owners throw away large quantities of same-type plastics? What dumpsters might yield shovelable quantities of plastics? Who do I call? Where do I go? When is the best time to query business owners or check their discards? What should I bring to collect my plastic? How would I go about researching sourcing options? And, last, but not at all least, ... Thanks for all the work you put into research, testing, filming, editing, and just being you guys. Great work!

[@davidjones5684]

Love this. Would love to know if you guys are able to do anything with crisp packets.

[@eugenetswong]

You could make a solar box cooker, and use them as the reflective material.

[@donavenmesser8569]

I recycle chip bags in to fishing lures

[@db7059]

I have a question guys. Plastic shredder machine or plastic granular machine. Which is better? I been told the granular would be better as plastic melts better through the injector and extruder.

[@rebeccaledford8202]

DVD clear flexible case covers: those look like the right kind of plastic to resist casting resin. So, resiner mats or, if the properties hold through reshaping, molds and texture mats for resiners. I know, casting resin is more plastic coming into the stream, but a lot of folks recycle other stuff in their crafting, and the resin is just the protective coating.

[@leandrogaldeano7731]

They look awesome!!! 🎉

[@bryanholder1329]

To make these faster and easier while minimizing the work and waste change the way the mold forms them. By splitting the lense’s frame section at the hinge through to the nose section. The screw at the judge for the ear piece will hold it together, you’d be able to mold the frames with the lenses groove already precut so you’d be able to go straight to the clean up stage and this would also allow a place to add badging and colors to the nose piece screw in a different contrasting color allowing for more versions or you could insert a magnet and change out the colors to match their outfit or mood for the day.

[@eugenetswong]

That sounds like more work! If you can't reduce the number of hinges, then it sounds like more work.

[@imjusthereexistingithink]

For those clear DVD case sleeves, I recently saw a thing about how there's a company that presses plastic bags into soles for shoes, I wonder if you'd be able to do something similar with those 🤔

[@quaxie]

Had this idea years ago, glad yall found a way to run with the same idea!

[@polylabnz2652]

Well done guys! You've come a long way and it's very encouraging and inspiring to see you grow 👏

[@niceatpingpong]

I think that injection molding for the sunglasses is cool, but traditional glasses are made from a sheet for a couple reasons. First, doing things like cutting the grooves for the lenses is a lot easier since you can just chuck the faces onto a routing table and route the groove in a matter of seconds. You mentioned the curve of the frames being an issue, but when glasses are made, the curving is one of the last things the do, they heat up the frames and either put them into a press or put the curve in by hand. For the hinges, I would consider using screw-mount hinges that screw through the temple and face if you're concerned about the parts being serviceable. If you're going to use a single screw for the hinge it's probably best to find one that's not threaded in the middle and only threaded where it screws into the temples because the screws can work themselves out as the hinge is opened and closed. If you are going to stick with the screws that you're currently using, consider drilling the hole in the face slightly bigger than the screw so the threads are only going into the temples. You'll be able to keep the temples tight via friction from the squeezing of top and bottom of the hinge, but the screw shouldn't back out as easily.

[@bkucenski]

Amazon should be shipping DVDs and whatnot in cardboard rather than plastic cases. The plastic cases make sense in stores for advertisers, but not for online shopping where the customer will put it on a shelf or in a CD multi case. I switched almost my entire collection to sleaves that fit the liner as well. It takes up 10% of the space that the original cases took up. I only keep the cases for particular high quality movies like all the major Disney films.

[@GreatSageSunWukong]

I like the cases with the artwork I keep them as they come

[@J_Abad]

Could you drill two holes on the sunglasses and add two small dimples on each leg that fit into the holes? That way you dont need to add a screw to act as a hinge and everything is held together by pressure

[@nenadnedovic9246]

I have a pair of Dresden reading glasses made from recycled money. Super cool. They have one style in 3 sizes. And various colors. Love the idea.

[@sashabeep]

Blue color with blue lenses look awesome! And this bright red looks even greatier, sad that you ditched them

[@BrothersMake]

We might try that colour for batch 2

[@CaamMartz]

Hey guys! An user of glasses 24/7 here. It would be nice if you can do clip on glasses, so you can change the lenses and still having 20/20 vision haha

[@bathmallow]

Well done guys. How about some kids sizes too. I know that will mean a complete new mold and different size lenses too. But kids would love them.👍

[@stalwart56k]

I'd love to see you guys make new, stronger bags from the LPDE pieces. Hopefully there is a faster method than ironing them in layers.

[@amyjones7962]

You could use the clear leftover sheets for green house covering or some type of projector art sheets or whatever. 🤓 Sew them together and make an umbrella and a matching raincoat. lol

[@virginiaflores3713]

Hello. Thank you so much for all you do to help the environment. I really like the colors of your sunglasses. Maybe a nice Sunshine using the oranges and the yellow. Or Horizon using pink, purple, blue. The silver and gold with black may look nice too. I don't know. Just some ideas. Also, can you use the plastic sheeting as a protector of some sort like the way varnish is used. I know that some people use clear plastic on cloth to make them water resistant. Just some ideas. I think I still have some DVDs or CDs somewhere in this house. Anyway, thanks again for all you do. God bless.

[@aware2action]

Could make the grooves more precise by using a jig to fix the frames, a cnc with tilting spindle(also would need custom gcode to follow the 4d profile) and a opencv based work centering. Just some suggestions.❤👍

[@stmichaelonukwue7266]

Wow. . that is impressive.... I like your work in recycling.... But what am in need is that which software did your friend design that sunglasses

[@metalexbonnie2002]

Maybe you could 3d print a jig that uses a few gears to move the rotary tool to the right place to cut the groove perfectly everytime.

[@urzmontst.george6314]

I really respect what you lads are up to.

[@CrudeButEfficient]

Awesome! That's a lot of work for one pair of glasses!

[@sharkattack1979]

Lads Bravo👏👏👏 what an amazing product will deffo pick up a pair soon🤙🤙

[@pvm70]

Well done lads. Brilliantly done

[@ElliHoy]

Hi, thanks for the video maybe look into 12/24/240v cartridge heaters to heat the mold

[@CourtneySpens]

These are amazing guys! I really want a pink pair!! Especially if they were like solid pink and clear pink marbled.

[@KubedPixel]

Could the plastic sleeves be ground down and used as a supporting/strengthening/bulking material? I guess that when the product gets recycled, you wouldn't be able to separate out the materials though.. so probably not a good idea, thinking about it.

[@cityseabird]

Could the thin plastic films from the DVDs be stitched together to make a sheet for craft use or something?

[@Mystic_Light]

Could the clear plastic sheets be made into card cases with lanyards? They could hold a security, transit, or door pass.

[@Theechemicalsoap]

would using those discs from the case work as a plastic for the lens? if so, that's a good use

[@richardhart7652]

Do you drill a clearance hole for the thread on the arms allowing freer movement of the arms and preventing the screw undoing itself nice video by the way missed you on here was beginning to wonder where you were

[@Mr_Wolfkin]

Cheers mates! love the videos and wanna get into some very basic plastic molding and the like, do you have any recommendations on how to use Polypropylene for a basic start? I seem to have a lot more of that then HDPE and would like to use both for maximum recycle potential

[@johnpattison1]

How does the amount of UV degradation of plastic (especially LDPE and HDPE) effect its recycling uses? Will your processes still work? Thanks for your insight.

[@Mr.Hatchet224]

If you can find a way to secure those clear plastic sleeves together you can make a mini greenhouse out of them

[@IlContainerdelMicio]

Hey guys Were you buy the hot chamber ??? Is so cool your work !! I want to make the same here in italy

[@thepistachio6227]

Absolutely fantastic!! You guys are an inspiration!!

[@fredthegreg]

Just ordered a pair. They look super cool

[@chrismellon127]

I think ur 1st bunch were so cool. Can’t wait to c the end result

[@guaiqueritech]

3:08 maybe use them as fillings for large bean bags? Just spitballing here 😂

[@vacuumdiagram]

With the weather turning colder, could the waste sleeves be used for secondary glazing?

[@cubos2232]

Hello, at minute 11.10 when you make the bezel for the telescope, what is the name of the accessory you use on the mini lathe, if you have the characteristics. Excellent product. Greetings from Argentina.

[@moth.monster]

Would it be possible to have a prescription version? Obviously I don't expect you to make the lenses yourself, but if you could find someone else to do that? I wear prescription glasses every day, so it would be fun to have recycled ones!

[@eugenetswong]

It makes more sense, I think, to have the frames shipped to you, and then get a local store to add the lenses for you.

[@RavenLittle]

It would be really cool if the next Recycling project to use injection molding was a 'easy square' the common wood working tool.

[@bradleytuckwell4881]

Well done brothers and the crew it’s such a great idea

[@BrothersMake]

Thank you Bradley!

[@aye3678]

This is such an awesome channel. Love what you guys do. Nicely done :)

[@margaretbates6010]

Brilliant show!

[@voguishthrone5887]

So this might be a stupid question, but why can’t you wash the clear sheets? Does the interaction with finger oils like change the property of the plastic?