The Fundación Madre Tierra Verde, (Mother Green Earth) is a Costa Rica Based NGO that strives to protect our planet’s natural resources. The Foundation promotes the acquisition of specialized machines for plastic Recycling. Their open-source programming allows them to process any type of plastic material.
Ronny Castillo, president and founder of Mother Green Earth, states that “The idea that there are types of plastic that cannot be recycled is false because there are several ways to do it. What is missing is the willingness to acquire the right equipment and to train the human resources to operate it. “
The expert explains that “plastic can be used as raw material for many things we use every day. “For example”, he says, “we are currently working with the Fashion Design School of UCreativa to make garments based on recycled plastics.
For these processes first, it is necessary to classify the types of plastic and calibrate the machines for each one. This influences directly the amount of time required to process the material and allows more effective disposal of the plastic found in the streets, beaches, rivers, etc. It also means a step forward in the conservation of the environment.
José Coto, president of UCreativa, comments that “the first step is to educate the population and change the vision of recycling in the fashion industry. We must understand that technology allows us to reuse materials and turn them into useful objects for our lives, and thus unite to change consumption habits “.
3D in Fashion
A fundamental part of the process is the 3D printers that allow producing the accessories and garments that fashion designers propose. These are made with reused waste, thus prolonging their usefulness.
According to Rob Chamaeleo, fashion director at UCreativa: “Working with recycled materials and 3D printing has been a challenge, which both the students of the University and me, we assumed as the opportunity to lead positively in the industry, by being responsible with the environment”
On The Catwalk
The collections were shown at the UCreativa annual fashion show. The event was organized by Xperience X, and this year was called Disruptive Fashion. It was part of the SingularityU Costa Rica Summit, held this February at the Costa Rica Convention Center.
This event served to explore topics that set a trend for the future, specifically with the application of technology in innovation and value processes that define our daily lives.
Singularity University (SingularityU) is the world’s leading catalyst for leveraging exponential technologies, including artificial intelligence, robotics, digital biology, and nanotechnology, to create a more livable world.
Plástico Precioso
This is part of the Precious Plastic project, inspired by the Precious Plastics initiative, an international community of people seeking to introduce plastic waste into everyday use.
The initiative comes from Dave Hakkens, a young Dutchman who has made available to everyone, for free and in open source, diverse blueprints and detailed instructional videos on how to build a small plastic recycling factory.
Thus, Precious Plastics seeks to make a coalition between various organizations to publicize the reality of plastic in our country. This on an addition to providing tools and furthering plastic recycling alternatives for the communities.
